Resurfacing Techniques Venture Below the Jawline
A dead giveaway that a person has “had something done” to his or her face is if the skin on the backs of the hands or the chest doesn’t match the face. When the body skin is sun-damaged and wrinkled while the texture and color of the face are fresh and clear as a teenager’s, chances are a laser or chemical peel has been applied to the face.
Now, more people are having these resurfacing procedures done to their bodies, bringing hands, arms, chest and faces in sync.
Skin texture and color can be improved, dermatologists are learning. But Edward Victor Ross, speaking at the American Academy of Dermatology’s annual meeting, said caution should be used when resurfacing techniques are taken beyond the face.
“Nonfacial skin heals more slowly, so peels should be limited to the uppermost layer of skin,” said Ross, a dermatologist at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego.
In an interview, he explained that going deeper risks complications such as scarring, infection and loss of color. A series of three peels about six weeks apart can improve the crepe-paper texture and irregular pigmentation that occurs with aging and sun damage.
“If you go beyond that recipe, you’re heading for disaster,” he said, warning that medium and deep peels are not recommended beyond the jawline.
During the healing process, which can take two to three weeks for body skin, Ross advised keeping skin hydrated by drinking water, covering it with an ointment and protecting it from the sun.
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Homeopathy Is Put to the Test With Asthmatics
Homeopathy is believed to be especially useful for allergies. It uses a micro dose of a substance that is similar to, or the same as, whatever causes the allergy or its symptoms. Now British researchers have put one type of homeopathy to the test in a clinical trial involving more than 200 asthmatics allergic to dust mites.
The study published recently in the British Medical Journal found that three doses of a homeopathic dilution of dust mites over a 24-hour period was no better than a placebo. People in both groups were able to expel more air from their lungs and had an improved quality of life in the weeks following treatment.
However, there were some differences between the groups. For example, in the last four weeks of the 16-week study, those in the treatment group felt the need to use their bronchodilators less often than those in the placebo group. Although proponents of homeopathy point to this difference as evidence that the remedy was working, the study’s author, George Lewith of the Complementary Medicine Research Unit at Royal South Hants Hospital, sees it as proving little. On tests of actual lung function, the homeopathic treatment was not better--or more effective--than the placebo.
“But that difference in response says to me that something is happening,” says Dana Ullman, author of numerous books on homeopathy. He also agrees with a point brought up in an editorial accompanying the study that says: “Most trials of homeopathic medicine do not individualize treatment, the hallmark of homeopathic practice.” In this study, everyone in the treatment group received the same dose of the remedy.
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Nicotine Therapies Encourage More Smokers to Kick the Habit
Ex-smokers often say giving up cigarettes was the hardest thing they ever did. A few years ago, quitting got a bit easier when nicotine patches and gum became available over the counter, making nicotine replacement therapy more readily available. As a result, say some experts, more smokers than ever decided to try to give up the habit.
According to a study presented at the annual Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco meeting in Savannah, Ga., there was a 4% increase in those trying to quit after the prescription-only aids became available without a doctor’s approval.
That number may seem small, but according to researcher Saul Shiffman, it translates to an increase of about 2 million more smokers trying to quit. By examining U.S. census data, Shiffman, a psychology professor at the University of Pittsburgh, and his colleagues found that in 1999, nearly 40% of American smokers had tried to stop during the previous year, an increase from 35.6% in the year before the FDA allowed these nicotine products to be sold over the counter in 1996.
The researchers acknowledge that other smoking cessation efforts geared toward changing behavior played a role, too.
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Study Finds Diet Drugs Yield Only Modest Weight Loss
Many experts think that obesity is a disease and like any other serious condition could be treated with medication along with diet and exercise.
But so far, weight-loss drugs are falling short of expectations. That’s what researchers found in the first extensive survey of diet drug clinical trials. Still, they are hopeful. Diet drugs may be useful for weight maintenance.
In the 108 studies analyzed, most of the single drugs produced modest weight loss on average. Obese people taking a single type of diet drug lost about 41/2 to 9 pounds more than those on a placebo pill, according to the study published recently in the International Journal of Obesity.
Most studies included lifestyle management programs and drug therapy. No drug was clearly superior, but amphetamine, benzphetamine, fenfluramine and sibutramine were more effective than the others. Drug combinations were the most successful. People on the fen-phen combo, which is no longer available, lost 14 pounds. The only totally ineffective drug was benzocaine. Most diet drugs had their greatest impact early in treatment. The rate of weight loss decreased the longer many of the drugs were taken. Weight maintenance is another matter. In this area, the drugs may be most useful. According to Dr. C. Keith Haddock, assistant professor of psychology and medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, two recent studies found that people who had lost weight on a very low calorie diet were able to maintain 80% to 100% of the loss for at least a year when they took sibutramine (Meridia).
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Dianne Partie Lange can be reached by e-mail at DianneLange@cs.com.
