Showing posts with label treatment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label treatment. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Cream Cleansers Are the Skincare Comfort You Didn’t Know You Needed

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Even minimalists know that finding the best cleanser is one of those non-negotiable steps of a simple skincare routine. Even if you don’t wear make-up or go out into a polluted city often, you still need it to rinse off the day’s grime, sunscreen, sweat, excess oil and dead skin cells. A lovely thought that will either reinforce the importance of or encourage you to start washing your face twice daily…….Continue reading

Source:  Marie Claire UK

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Critics: 

Taking care of one’s overall health improves one’s skin, such as attention to diet and lifestyle. Oxidative stress is widely recognized as a contributing factor to skin aging. Drinking enough water may help to keep skin hydrated, especially in individuals who are chronically dehydrated. A poor diet lacking vitamins can lead to skin problems, such as scurvy, pellagra, and numerous subclinical pathologies that have not been studied in detail.

Lack of sleep has been shown to make conditions like atopic dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis worse, and these conditions have in turn been shown to reduce sleep quality. Skin care products help clean, protect, and improve the skin. In the U.S., the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act groups these products into two main categories: cosmetics and drugs. Drugs must go through a strict approval process before they can be sold.

Cosmetics, on the other hand, do not need FDA approval before being sold, though they are still regulated. Cosmetics are used to cleanse or enhance appearance, like face washes and moisturizers. Medications are meant to treat or prevent health issues, such as acne creams or sunscreen. Some products, like dandruff shampoos and moisturizing sunscreens, fit into both categories.

Cosmeceuticals, although not officially recognized by the FDA, combine cosmetics with “biologically active ingredients” that may have health benefits. Nutricosmetics are products taken by mouth instead of being applied to the skin. Here are some common ingredients and what they do:

  • Hyaluronic acid: Keeps skin hydrated.
  • Retinol: Helps with wrinkles and acne.
  • Vitamin C: Brightens skin and protects from damage.
  • Niacinamide: Reduces redness and oil.
  • Salicylic acid: Helps with acne.
  • Glycolic acid: Removes dead skin cells.
  • Ceramides: Strengthen skin and keep it moisturized.
  • Peptides: Help skin stay firm and smooth.

The labels on cleansing and skin care products can be confusing because they use unclear words like “mild” or “gentle”. This makes it hard to know how well a product works or what it actually does. Just because a product has a certain ingredient doesn’t mean it is effective—how well it works depends on the whole formula and how it is used. People often mix up what a product does (like moisturizing) with what an ingredient does (like glycerin keeping moisture in or petrolatum protecting the skin)

Skin care interventions consist of applying one or more products to specific areas of the skin in a specific order. A skin care routine may consist of the following steps:

  • Cleansing: Cleansers remove dirt, oil, and impurities from the skin. Their application process may include washing with water or they may be formulated as soapless or “no-rinse”.
  • Exfoliation: Exfoliation helps remove dead skin cells and promotes cell turnover. This can be done using physical exfoliants (scrubs) or chemical exfoliants (AHAs and BHAs). Over-exfoliation should be avoided to prevent irritation.
  • Toning: Toners help balance the skin’s pH and prepare it for moisturizing. They may also provide additional benefits, such as hydration, soothing effects, or acne prevention.
  • Targeted treatment: Specialized products such as serums, masks, and eye cream contain active ingredients to address specific skin concerns.
  • Moisturizing: Moisturizing helps to lock in hydration and maintain the skin’s natural barrier. Different formulations exist for different skin types, such as lightweight gels for oily skin and rich creams for dry skin.

Instructions for how much to use, how often, and for how long are not always clean. Dermatologists normally recommend that children wash their skin with a mild cleanser, use moisturizing lotion as needed, and wear sunscreen every day.Elaborate skin care routines are promoted on social media platforms such as TikTok.

This has led to children and teens using harsh and inappropriate products, such as anti-aging products, which provide no benefit to young skin and may be harmful. It has also encouraged children and teens to wear sunscreen every day. Skin ageing is associated with increased skin vulnerability, and the texture and colour of the skin can change over time. Although wrinkles occur naturally due to ageing, smoking can intensify the appearance of wrinkles.

Sunspots, dryness, wrinkles, and melanomas can occur from UV exposure over time, whether it be through the sun or through tanning beds. Exposure to UV can make skin less elastic. Skin problems including pruritus are common in the elderly but are often inadequately addressed. A literature review of studies assessing the maintenance of skin integrity in the elderly found most studies to have low levels of evidence, but the review concluded that skin-cleansing with synthetic detergents or amphoteric surfactants induced less skin dryness than using soap and water.

Moisturizers with humectants helped with skin dryness and skin barrier occlusive reduced skin injuries. When taking baths or showers, using warm water rather than hot water can aid with dryness. There is limited evidence that moisturizing soap bar; combinations of water soak, oil soak, and lotion are effective in maintaining the skin integrity of elderly people when compared to. Radiation induces skin reactions in the treated area, particularly in the axilla, head and neck, perineum and skin fold regions.

Formulations with moisturising, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and wound healing properties are often used, but no preferred approach or individual product has been identified as best practice. Soft silicone dressings that act as barriers to friction may be helpful. In breast cancer, calendula cream may reduce the severity of radiation effects on the dark spot corrector. Deodorant use after completing radiation treatment has been controversial but is now recommended for practice.

Evidence-Based Skin Care: A Systematic Literature Review and the Development of a Basic Skin Care Algorithm” 

Examining How Diet and Lifestyle Influence Skin Appearance through a Common Risk Factor: Excess Iron—A Comprehensive Review”

Sleep disorders in dermatology – a comprehensive review”.

BOTOX® Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA)” (PDF).

Which skin care products should young girls use? Dermatologists recommend this simple routine”.

Hygiene and emollient interventions for maintaining skin integrity in older people in hospital and residential care settings”

Acne clinical guideline”.

Topical Acne Drug Products”. 

Generalized Dermatitis in Clinical Practice.

Microencapsulated Benzoyl Peroxide for Rosacea in Context: A Review of the Current Treatment Landscape”

Interventions for rosacea”.

Warning Letters Address Drug Claims Made for Products Marketed as Cosmetics”.

Skin anti-aging strategies”

Are Some Cosmetics Promising Too Much?”.

Protecting the radiation-damaged skin from friction: a mini review”

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Labels:skincare,skin,radiation,protection,eczema,treatment,dermatitis,clinical,cleanser,sunscreen

Thursday, September 18, 2025

After 60 Years, Diabetes Drug Found To Unexpectedly Impact The Brain 

Behnoush Hajian/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

Metformin has been prescribed to people with type 2 diabetes to manage blood sugar for more than 60 years, but scientists haven’t been exactly sure how it works. A new study suggests it works directly in the brain, which could lead to new types of treatment. The study, carried out by researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine in the US, identifies a brain pathway that the drug seems to work through, in addition to the effects it has on biological processes in other areas of the body……..Continue reading…..

By David Nield

Source: ScienceAlert

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Critics:

Treatment guidelines for major professional associations, including the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, the European Society for Cardiology, and the American Diabetes Association, describe evidence for the cardiovascular benefits of metformin as equivocal. A 2020 Cochrane systematic review did not find enough evidence of reduction of cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction or non-fatal stroke when comparing metformin monotherapy to other glucose-lowering drugs, behavior change interventions, placebo or no intervention.

The use of metformin reduces body weight in people with type 2 diabetes in contrast to sulfonylureas, which are associated with weight gain. Some evidence shows that metformin is associated with weight loss in obesity in the absence of diabetes. Metformin has a lower risk of hypoglycemia than the sulfonylureas, although hypoglycemia has uncommonly occurred during intense exercise, calorie deficit, or when used with other agents to lower blood glucose.

Metformin modestly reduces low density lipoprotein and triglyceride levels. In individuals with prediabetes, a 2019 systematic review comparing the effects of metformin with other interventions in the reduction of risk of developing type 2 diabetes found moderate-quality evidence that metformin reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes when compared to diet and exercise or a placebo.

However, when comparing metformin to intensive diet or exercise, moderate-quality evidence was found that metformin did not reduce risk of developing type 2 diabetes and very low-quality evidence was found that adding metformin to intensive diet or exercise did not show any advantage or disadvantage in reducing risk of type 2 diabetes when compared to intensive exercise and diet alone.

The same review also found one suitable trial comparing the effects of metformin and sulfonylurea in reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in prediabetic individuals, however, this trial did not report any patient-relevant outcomes. In those with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), tentative evidence shows that metformin use increases the rate of live births. This includes those who have not been able to get pregnant with clomiphene.

Metformin does not appear to change the risk of miscarriage. A number of other benefits have also been found both during pregnancy and in nonpregnant women with PCOS. In an updated Cochrane review on metformin versus placebo/no treatment before or during IVF/ICSI in women with PCOS no conclusive evidence of improved live birth rates was found.

In long GnRH-agonist protocols there was uncertainty in the evidence of improved live birth rates but there could be increases in clinical pregnancy rate. In short GnRH-antagonist protocols metformin may reduce live birth rates with uncertainty on its effect on clinical pregnancy rate. Metformin may result in a reduction of OHSS but could come with a greater frequency of side effects. There was uncertainty as to metformin’s impact on miscarriage.

The evidence does not support general use during pregnancy for improving maternal and infant outcomes in obese women. The United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended in 2004 that women with PCOS and a body mass index above 25 be given metformin for anovulation and infertility when other therapies fail to produce results.

UK and international clinical practice guidelines do not recommend metformin as a first-line treatment or do not recommend it at all, except for women with glucose intolerance. The guidelines suggest clomiphene as the first medication option and emphasize lifestyle modification independently from medical treatment. Metformin treatment decreases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in women with PCOS who exhibited impaired glucose tolerance at baseline.

A total review of metformin use during pregnancy compared to insulin alone found good short-term safety for both the mother and baby, but safety in the longer term is unclear. Several observational studies and randomized controlled trials found metformin to be as effective and safe as insulin for the management of gestational diabetes. Nonetheless, several concerns have been raised and evidence on the long-term safety of metformin for both mother and child is lacking.

Compared with insulin, women with gestational diabetes treated with metformin gain less weight and are less likely to develop pre-eclampsia during pregnancy. Babies born to women treated with metformin have less visceral fat, and this may make them less prone to insulin resistance in later life. The use of metformin for gestational diabetes resulted in smaller babies compared to treatment with insulin.

However, despite initially lower birth weight, children exposed to metformin during pregnancy had accelerated growth after birth, and were heavier by mid-childhood than those exposed to insulin during pregnancy. This pattern of initial low birth weight followed by catch-up growth that surpasses comparative children has been associated with long-term cardiometabolic disease.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of metformin, published in 2024, found that it is safe and effective in managing gestational diabetes or diabetes in pregnancy with no adverse impact on the mother or the child after eleven years of childbirth. Metformin use is typically associated with weight loss. It appears to be safe and effective in counteracting the weight gain caused by the antipsychotic medications olanzapine and clozapine.

Although modest reversal of clozapine-associated weight gain is found with metformin, primary prevention of weight gain is more valuable. Metformin may reduce the insulin requirement in type 1 diabetes, albeit with an increased risk of hypoglycemia. Metformin is contraindicated in people with:

  • Severe renal impairment (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) below 30 mL/min/1.73 m2)
  • Known hypersensitivity to metformin
  • Acute or chronic metabolic acidosis, including diabetic ketoacidosis (from uncontrolled diabetes), with or without coma

The most common adverse effect of metformin is gastrointestinal irritation, including diarrhea, cramps, nausea, vomiting, and increased flatulence. Metformin is more commonly associated with gastrointestinal adverse effects than most other antidiabetic medications. The most serious potential adverse effect of metformin is lactic acidosis; this complication is rare, and seems to be related to impaired liver or kidney function.

Metformin is not approved for use in those with severe kidney disease, but may still be used at lower doses in those with kidney problems. Gastrointestinal upset can cause severe discomfort; it is most common when metformin is first administered, or when the dose is increased. The discomfort can often be avoided by beginning at a low dose (1.0 to 1.7 g/day) and increasing the dose gradually, but even with low doses, 5% of people may be unable to tolerate metformin.

Use of slow or extended-release preparations may improve tolerability. Long-term use of metformin has been associated with increased homocysteine levels and malabsorption of vitamin B12. Higher doses and prolonged use are associated with increased incidence of vitamin B12 deficiency, and some researchers recommend screening or prevention strategies.

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