[HOW I EXPLORE... SKIN COMPLEXION BY ANALYTICAL APPROACH]. / COMMENT J'EXPLORE ... la carnation de la peau par une approche analytique.

Skin colour is important for interindividual relationships considerations, as well as for the assessment of some physiopathological aspects. Its subjective assessments varies among observers and according to light. By contrast, an objective approach, both qualitative and quantitative by analytical measurements, has been available for some years. Its application in routine clinical settings is possible. The aspects are dependent on the incident light wavelengths. Accordingly, a series of skin diseases, but also ictera, uremia, anemia and hemochromatosis are possibly assessed in the field of internal medecine according to variations of skin colors.

[GAZING INTO A CRYSTAL BALL AND DETECTING SUBJECTS AT RISK FOR DEVELOPING CUTANEOUS MELANOMA]. / REGARDER DANS UNE BOULE DE CRISTAL ET DÉPISTER DES SUJETS À RISQUE POUR LE MÉLANOME CUTANÉ.

Cutaneous melanoma is the deadliest skin cancer showing an increasingly growing incidence in white populations of Europe and United States. Intensive research in recent years has begun to unlock its molecular pathogenesis. Screening the neoplasm at an early stage remains primordial. Hence, targeting populations at risk is likely efficient. In such an attempt, the regular clinical examination benefits from a series of non invasive procedures such as skin surface biopsies, in vivo confocal microscopy, dermoscopy and specular fluorescent light reflectance.

[How I explore ... the cheetah-look of the skin under selected light wavelengths]. / Comment j'explore ... le "cheetah-look". Regard sur la peau sous des longueurs d'ondes particulières de la lumière.

The melanotic facial pigmentation of each individual is frequently heterogeneous, even when this condition remains imperceptible under natural ambient light. However, with aging, this aspect may appear to everybody. The melanin heterochromia has various origins including ethnicity, the hormonal impact, the influence of various inflammatory, toxic and drug-induced disorders, as well as the impact of photoaging. The cheetah-look aspect is thus established and well identified under ultraviolet light or using an ingenious trick selecting some wavelengths of visible light.

[Climatic changes and the antinomy of dehydrating water]. / Changements climatiques et l'antinomie de l'eau qui déshydrate.

The stratum corneum materializes the interface between the body and its environment. Such a structure is influenced by the climate and seasons. A series of physicochemical parameters are involved in this relationship. Among them, the relative humidity, the dew point, the insensible loss of water and the concepts of water-as-ice and the higgledy-piggledy-water.

[Spectral analysis of the microvasculature of primary cutaneous melanoma]. / Introduction à l'analyse spectrale des réseaux microvasculaires du mélanome cutané primitif.

Cutaneous malignant melanoma represents one of the most dramatic skin cancers because its incidence is steadily growing in White populations. Of note, its metastatic risk and mortality dramatically increase when the primary neoplasm reaches about one millimeter thick. It is believed that angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis associated with cutaneous melanoma potentially influence the neoplastic progression of the primary tumor and its metastases. In some instances, both the intratumoral and peritumoral microvasculature are correlated to booming of the tumoral growth fraction. In addition, the vascular network serves as a migration path for the intravascular and perivascular neoplastic spread. Hence, the quantification of the microvasculature might help establishing a prognostic factor of evolution. Among the available methods, spectral analysis of immunohistochemical sections highlighting vessels helps defining the microvasculature distribution. The benefit of using spectral analysis is discussed and the modalities of application of this analytical method are scrutinized.

Environmental dew point and skin and lip weathering.

Xerosis represents a physiological response of the stratum corneum (SC) to environmental threats. The influence of the environmental dew point (DP) is not fully understood. This parameter is the air temperature at which the relative humidity is maximum. This study aimed to assess the relationship between the environmental DP and the water-holding capacity of the skin and lower lip vermilion. For comparison, SC property was evaluated after occlusive application of cooled and uncooled hydrogel pads. Electrometric measurements using a dermal phase meter (DPM) device were performed on the back of the hands, the cheeks and the lower lip of 40 healthy menopausal women. Assessments were performed in the outdoor conditions during winter and spring. The same measurements were recorded after hydrogel pads, at room temperature or cooled to 4 degrees C, were placed for 15 min on the test sites. The environmental DP was recorded at each evaluation time. The SC water-holding capacity was discretely influenced by the DP. In the open-air environmental conditions, a positive linear relationship was found on the cheeks between the DP and DPM values. The relationship was weaker on the lips. Conversely, a consistent increase in DPM values was recorded immediately after removal of the cooled and uncooled hydrogel pads. The observations made in the open-air testing conditions are consistent with the predicted events following the Arrhenius law. By contrast, the combination of cooling and occlusion by the hydrogel pads is responsible for the reverse effect on the SC.

[Introduction to paleopathology. At the sources of cancers in the dinosaurs]. / Introduction à la paléopathologie. A la source des cancers chez les dinosaures.

Cancers were present on earth well before man. The most ancient clues for such diseases have been found in fossils of dinosaurs.