ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Skin cancer and photoaging changes result from ultraviolet (UV)-induced oxidative stress. Topical antioxidants may protect skin from these effects. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether a stable topical formulation of 15% L-ascorbic acid, 1% alpha-tocopherol, and 0.5% ferulic acid (CEFer) could protect human skin in vivo from substantial amounts of solar-simulated UV radiation. METHODS: CEFer and its vehicle were applied to separate patches of normal-appearing human skin for 4 days. Each patch was irradiated with solar-simulated UV, 2 to 10 minimal erythema doses, at 2-minimal erythema dose intervals. One day later, skin was evaluated for erythema and sunburn cells, and immunohistochemically for thymine dimers and p53. UV-induced cytokine formation, including interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, were evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: CEFer provided significant and meaningful photoprotection for skin by all methods of evaluation. LIMITATIONS: The number of patients evaluated was relatively small. CONCLUSION: CEFer provided substantial UV photoprotection for skin. It is particularly effective for reducing thymine dimer mutations known to be associated with skin cancer. Its mechanism of action is different from sunscreens and would be expected to supplement the sun protection provided by sunscreens.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/therapeutic use , Ascorbic Acid/therapeutic use , Coumaric Acids/therapeutic use , DNA Damage/drug effects , Skin/radiation effects , Sunburn/prevention & control , alpha-Tocopherol/therapeutic use , Administration, Cutaneous , Adult , Cytokines/genetics , Cytokines/metabolism , DNA Primers , Drug Combinations , Erythema/etiology , Erythema/prevention & control , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Pyrimidine Dimers/analysis , RNA, Messenger/analysis , Radiation Dosage , Skin/metabolism , Skin/pathology , Skin Neoplasms/genetics , Skin Neoplasms/prevention & control , Statistics, Nonparametric , Sunburn/genetics , Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/analysis , Ultraviolet Rays/adverse effectsSubject(s)
Patient Education as Topic , Vagina/microbiology , Vaginal Douching/adverse effects , Women/education , Attitude to Health , Educational Status , Female , Health Behavior , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Health Surveys , Humans , Nurse's Role , Nursing Assessment , Obstetric Labor, Premature/etiology , Patient Education as Topic/methods , Pelvic Inflammatory Disease/etiology , Pregnancy , Socioeconomic Factors , United States , Vaginal Douching/psychology , Vaginal Douching/statistics & numerical data , Vaginosis, Bacterial/etiology , Women/psychologyABSTRACT
Data mining is a research method that is increasingly being used to predict clinical outcomes, for example, cancer or AIDS survival, diagnostic accuracy in abdominal pain or brain tumors, and much more. In clinical practice, predicting which patients will deliver preterm versus full term remains a complex clinical problem for families and the healthcare system. Exploratory data mining was used for predicting birth outcomes in a racially diverse sample (n = 19,970). Duke University provided data (1622 variables) for data mining methods that found 7 demographic variables yielded .72 area under the curve for receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, suggesting that a parsimonious set of preterm birth outcomes predictors may be possible. Improved prediction is needed for interventions to be appropriately targeted for improved birth outcomes management.
