Should you get treatment for your acne scars?

This is a personal decision that only you can make. Some people feel that acne scars diminish their quality of life. Others can see the same type of scarring as not so bad.

Dermatologists generally recommend making an appointment to talk about treatment if you experience any of the following:

• You frequently wish that you could just get rid of your acne scars

• You feel that the scars limit your opportunities to date, to get a job or a promotion, or to do well at school

• You feel more depressed or less self-confident than before you had acne and acne scarring

• You get together with people less often because you feel so self-conscious about the scars

In deciding whether to treat acne scars, it is important to know a few facts about scar treatment. Probably the most important fact is that medical insurance generally does not cover treatment for acne scarring. You will have to pay for the treatment. Be sure to get an estimate for the total cost before starting treatment.

You also should know that scar treatment may require several treatment sessions and some downtime.

Having realistic expectations about the results also is important. While treatment can improve the appearance of your skin, restoring it to the way it looked before you had acne scarring may not be possible. A dermatologist can tell you what you can expect.

For best results, if you still have acne, your dermatologist will probably want to get it under control before addressing your scars. And if you don't have scars, but do have acne, the sooner you get it treated and under control, the less likely you'll be to develop scars.

For more information about treatments dermatologist use for treating acne scars, go to the following American Academy of Dermatology links:

• Raised Acne Scars
• Depressed Acne Scars
• Treating Skin Color Changes due to Acne

And call us at (509) 735-1100 to make an appointment to discuss your options if you'd like to treat your acne scars. If you have severe scarring you probably want to make your appointment with one of our medical providers. If your acne scarring is less severe, one of our licensed estheticians or laser technicians can give you a free Visia consultation and let you know about the skincare products, chemical peels, microdermabrasion and/or Fraxel laser treatments that can improve your scarring.

Rooting out hair loss in women

More hair in the shower drain, a widening part or a smaller ponytail may be the first signs a woman is losing her hair. Hair loss in women is a common, but distressing problem.

Causes

There are several different reasons women may experience thinning hair including:

• Hair treatments: Including bleaching, permanent waving and certain hairstyles
• Stress: Such as childbirth, illness, surgery, grief, dramatic weight loss or gastric bypass surgery, cancer treatments
• Trichotillomania (hair pulling): Twisting or pulling as a bad habit or result of psychological condition
  
• Medical conditions: Including lupus, thyroid disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, starting or stopping oral contraceptives, iron or protein deficiency, chronic thyroid diseases, tinea capitis (scalp ringworm) fungal infection, alopecia areata (a rare autoimmune disorder where the body’s white blood cells attack the hair follicles) or inflammation of the hair follicles (cicatricial alopecia)
• Heredity (androgenetic alopecia): Like men, women can inherit thinning hair from either side of their family tree. Unlike men who typically have a bald patch or a receding hairline, women with hereditary hair loss, have hair that thins all over the crown, usually leaving the hairline intact.

Treatments

The earlier the cause of your hair loss is discovered and treated, the better the chances that you will be able to re-grow your lost hair.

• If hair loss is caused by stress; no treatment is usually needed since it will grow back on its own once the trigger is gone.
• Treatment of underlying medical causes may re-grow hair.
  
• Over-the-counter 2% minoxidil solution for women stimulates re-growth in about 60% of women with hereditary hair loss. The 5% minoxidil solution is not FDA approved for women, but can also be used successfully to re-grow hair.
  
• Medications such as finasteride (FDA-approved for male hair loss but used off-label for women) and anti-androgens spironolactone and flutamide are sometimes prescribed. These medications carry the risk of birth defects so oral contraceptives must be used in conjunction with them if the woman is able to get pregnant.
  
• Cortisone medication either applied to the skin or injected helps some women re-grow hair.
• Hair transplanting can be used to move hair from denser areas to thinning areas, and used in conjunction with topical or oral medications.
  

Why you need to see a dermatologist:

Dermatologists will do some detective work to get an accurate diagnosis that will give someone the best chance of re-growing their hair. They will take a complete medical history and visually inspect hair and scalp during the visit. They may ask what hair products and treatments are being used. They may also tug at a person's hair to determine the roots' health, look at hair on other parts of the body, take a scalp biopsy, do bloodwork or other testing in order to figure out the cause of the problem. And the sooner you get to the root of your hair loss problem, the more likely you'll be able to regrow your hair.

If you think your hair is thinning, call us at (509) 735-1100 to make an appointment today.

For more information, go to the American Academy of Dermatology.

Cigna Expiring

Just an FYI: We've decided not to renew our contract with Cigna insurance when it expires on Aug. 9, 2009. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Psoriasis linked to diabetes, high blood pressure

A study that tracked over 1800 women with psoriasis since 1991 found that they are more likely to develop diabetes and high blood pressure than those who didn't have psoriasis. Because inflammation is a factor in psoriasis, hypertension and pre-diabetic insulin resistance, it's possible that this underlying link is the reason behind the findings.

Read the complete story at MSNBC.

Read more about psoriasis and its treatment on our website.

Tadpoles help with skin cancer drug development

When melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, goes untreated, the mutant pigment cells that are normally responsible for the color of your skin, the melanocytes, start to spread to other parts of the body and form tumors. That's when it becomes almost impossible to stop the disease, and that's why scientists like Grant Wheeler of Britain are looking for a drug that would prevent skin cancer from spreading.

To test out potential drugs, Wheeler has been using tadpoles. Fertilized frog eggs are exposed to the compound being tested and if the tadpoles that grow from the eggs don't develop their normal pattern of color markings it means that the drug has prevented their pigment cells from spreading.

Wheeler has found a compound that does just that, and hopes that it means that it could be used in the future to prevent malignant pigment cells from spreading in humans. Until then, the best way to prevent skin cancer from spreading is early detection. So contact us and make your appointment for a full body skin exam today.

Read the full story on MSNBC.

Read more about skin cancer, melanoma and full-body skin exams on our website.

Psoriasis Study

If you have psoriasis, you can help further its study by participating in a clinical trial sponsored by Centocor, Inc., a company that develops biomedicines for psoriasis and other diseases. The Center for Excellence in Dermatology is one of the many locations around the United States participating in Centocor's Psoriasis Longitudinal Assessment and Registry (PSOLAR).

PSOLAR began in 2007 and is actively recruiting volunteers to participate. Since this is an "observational" study it is not testing any new drug or treatment, but is simply tracking information about patients who have psoriasis.

To learn more about PSOLAR and to see if you qualify for the study, go to ClinicalTrials.gov. You can also learn more about psoriasis on our website.

Sun triggers gene damage

A new study in the journal Cancer Cell finds that overexposure to the sun may trigger genetic damage to the BRAF gene, resulting in up to two-thirds of melanoma cases. While melanoma accounts for only a small percentage of skin cancers, it accounts for most skin cancer deaths.

So your take-away message is to protect your skin from the sun, stay away from tanning booths, wear sunscreen and contact us to make your appointment today if you have any suspicious moles.

To read the complete story at MSNBC.com, click here.

Mutant acne

If you feel like you're having a harder time controlling your acne with antibiotics, it may not be just your imagination. The bacteria that causes acne, P. acnes bacterium, is becoming more resistant to tetracycline and erythromycin, antibiotics commonly used for acne treatment. The result is that fewer dermatologists are relying on antibiotics alone to treat acne, may only prescribe antibiotics for a short time period instead of years and combination treatments are often used.

To read the complete story at MSNBC.com, click here.

Click here to print out your 15% off coupon for our Clean Start products by Dermalogica to get your skin clean, fight breakouts and get protection from the sun. Coupon is good until 4/30/2009. You must print out and present coupon to receive your discount.

Research reveals genetic basis for psoriasis

In a recent MSNBC.com article, new research is revealed that may impact future psoriasis treatments. Four new genetic "hot spots" were discovered to be associated with psoriasis, and two earlier ones were confirmed. A new drug made by Centocor called ustekinumab, which was recently approved for use in Europe and Canada, targets three of these hot spots. The FDA may approve this drug in the next few months to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, the most common form of the disease

Click here to find out more about psoriasis and current treatments for it.

Stick to the lattes

Sometimes it seems there's a Starbucks on every street corner, but a recent study by San Diego State University found that in many cities in the United States there are more tanning salons than Starbucks. A quick look at a Tri-Cities phone book shows we fit right into the study with 27 tanning salons to eight Starbucks locations.

With bathing suit season right around the corner, we thought we'd share some info from the American Academy of Dermatology and tell you some reasons why we think you should stay away from tanning salons and use sunscreen when you're outdoors:

• The United States Department of Health & Human Services has declared ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and artificial sources, such as tanning beds and sun lamps, as a known carcinogen (cancer-causing substance).
• Indoor tanning equipment, which includes all artificial light sources, including beds, lamps, bulbs, booths, etc., emits UVA and UVB radiation.The amount of the radiation produced during indoor tanning is similar to the sun and in some cases may be stronger.
• A Swedish study presents strong evidence that exposure to UV radiation during indoor tanning increases the risk of melanoma, especially when exposed at an early age.
• Evidence from several studies has shown that exposure to UV radiation from indoor tanning devices is associated with an increased risk of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer such as squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma.
• A review of seven studies found a statistically significant increase in the risk of melanoma in those who had been exposed to UV radiation from indoor tanning before the age of 35
• Studies have demonstrated that exposure to UV radiation during indoor tanning damages the DNA in the skin cells. Also excessive exposure to UV radiation during indoor tanning can lead to skin aging, immune suppression, and eye damage, including cataracts and ocular melanoma.
• Because UV radiation from indoor tanning can lead to skin cancer, eye damage, aging skin and immune suppression, it is not safe to use tanning lamps to obtain vitamin D.

So, how should you get ready for swimsuit season? First, if you want to look tan, try a sunless tanning product. There are a variety of lotions, creams, gels and sprays available to give you a nicely bronzed look without the danger of developing skin cancer, wrinkles or age spots. (In fact, many tanning salons offer safe spray-on tans.) The active ingredient in most sunless tanners is dihydroxyacetone (DHA), and it works by coloring the outermost layer of skin. This coloring won't wash off, but as your dead skin cells slough off your sunless tan will fade. If you don't reapply the tanner, typically your tan will be completely gone in less than a week.

(Please note that although topical sunless tanners are safe to use, sunless tanning pills are not. These have not been approved by the FDA and should be avoided.)

Tips for sunless tanning:

• Prepare your skin by exfoliating, using a wash cloth or sponge to remove excess dead skin cells. If you shave your legs, do so before applying. This will help your tan last longer.
• Use a little more sunless tanning lotion than you would to moisturize.
• Go lightly over knees, ankles and elbows to keep these areas from getting too dark.
• Wash hands and under fingernails thoroughly after applying. Better yet, wear gloves. Then apply a little tanning solution to tops of hands using a cotton ball.
• Most sunless tanners don't contain sunscreen so don't forget to apply sunscreen before you go outside.

To keep your skin safe, we carry the complete line of Procyte Advanced Sun Protection products in our office. Procyte's high-performance sun care products leave skin soft and supple, not sticky or chalky, and come in a full range of SPFs. Ti-Silc and Z-Silc offer superior protection with effortless blending by utilizing micronized titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.

Finally, there's another reason why you might want to visit a coffee shop instead of your local tanning salon. Researchers at Rutgers University have found that a combination of caffeine and exercise might help prevent skin cancer. But even if you're planning a jog to Starbucks, don't forget to wear your sunscreen!