Research

Research Summary Plant oils have been utilized for various purposes throughout history, including their integration into foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. They are now increasingly recognized for their effects on skin diseases and the restoration of cutaneous homeostasis. This article briefly reviews the available data on the biological influences of topical skin applications of several plant oils, including olive oil, olive pomace oil, sunflower seed oil, coconut oil, safflower seed oil, argan oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, avocado oil, borage oil, jojoba oil, oat oil, pomegranate seed oil, almond oil, bitter apricot oil, rose hip oil, German chamomile...

Research SummaryAluminium, the third most abundant element in the earth’s crust, was long considered virtually innocuous to humans but has gained importance in the recent past. Aluminium is ubiquitous in the environment, with various sources of exposure such as cosmetics, the food industry, occupational industries, the medical field, transport, and electronics. It finds utility in dermatology as an effective haemostatic agent, anti-perspirant, and astringent. Aluminium plays a pivotal role in wound healing, calciphylaxis, photodynamic therapy, and vaccine immunotherapy. It also holds diagnostic importance in Finn chamber patch testing and confocal microscopy. Additionally, the metal finds significance in cosmetic procedures like...

Research Summary Skin undergoes dramatic age-related changes in its mechanical properties, including changes in tissue hydration and resiliency. Proteoglycans, which are macromolecular conjugates of protein and carbohydrate (glycosaminoglycan), play a role in these tissue properties. To investigate whether age-related changes in skin proteoglycans contribute to the mechanical changes in aging skin, proteoglycans from human skin of various ages were extracted and analyzed. Samples were taken from two different fetal stages, as well as from mature and senescent skin.As skin ages, there is a decrease in the proportion of large chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (versican) and a corresponding increase in the proportion...

Research Summary Despite its widespread use as a preservative in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, as well as for other applications, only very few cases of allergic contact dermatitis and contact urticaria to phenoxyethanol (PE) have been reported. Accordingly, a retrospective study of the Information Network of Departments of Dermatology (IVDK) revealed a very low sensitization rate of 0.24% among 6,932 individuals patch tested in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland between 1996 and 2009. Similarly, in 681 cutting metalworkers patch tested with the DKG metalworking fluids series in IVDK centers from 2010 to 2018, sensitization to PE was rarely observed (0.3%).Although rare,...