Severe acne linked to higher suicide risk

Experts say people with acne should be monitored for depression and suicidal thoughts

 

By Peter Russell
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Dr Farah Ahmed

 

12th November 2010 - People with severe acne are at a heightened risk of attempting suicide, according to a new study in the online edition of the bmj.

It also found that those who had been treated with the commonly prescribed acne medication isotretinoin may be at an additional suicide risk. However, the authors stress that this is more likely to be because of events associated with their medical condition than the drug itself.

Isotretinoin has been used to treat severe cases of acne since the 1980s. It is marketed under the brand names Roaccutane, Accutane, Amnesteem, Claravis, Clarus or Decutan. Researchers in Sweden set out to determine whether there was any truth in case reports of an association between isotretinoin, depression and suicidal behaviour: for instance, a five year study which found that Finnish army recruits treated with isotretinoin were more likely to use mental health services than those who were not.

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From the facelift in a jar to the gel that boosts your bust, do these miracle creams EVER work?

Every month a new product is hailed as a miracle that will banish wrinkles, zap cellulite or give you a bigger bust.

But how many wonder lotions work?

JENNY STOCKS of the Daily Mail asked two top dermatologists, Dr Nick Lowe, of the Cranley Clinic, and Dr Stefanie Williams, of Harley Street clinic Eudelo.com, to find out...

THE CELLULITE BUSTER

Biotherm Celluli Laser D Code, £37, Boots

What is it? Only a lucky few will escape the curse of cellulite and so there are dozens of creams on the market that claim to lessen the dreaded orange peel effect. But one product caused a real splash, back in April, when 94 per cent of women during clinical trials reported less dimpled legs after use. 

Biotherm’s pink gel contains a chemical, phytosveltyl, which helps skin cells burn more fat and store less of it.

Dr Lowe’s verdict: ‘Whenever I see the word laser in a non-prescription cream, I’m worried. It’s doubtful any product can do the same as a laser.

‘This contains moisturising glycerin and caffeine, which may cause a slight tightening, but it would be a very temporary result.’


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What is a Wellay Personal Skin Laser and will it Rejuvenate My Skin?

What is a Wellay Personal Skin Laser and will it Rejuvenate My Skin?

After 18 years of Botox, how I finally unfroze my smile...

Was it the day I looked in the mirror and saw an unfamiliarly, glassy face staring back at me? Or was it the humiliating moment in A&E when the young doctor treating me for a cut on my forehead asked me to raise my eyebrows and I simply couldn’t do it?

Either way, after nearly two decades of having Botox, I’ve decided to quit. And as I hit send on the email cancelling my latest appointment — saying that I wouldn’t be rearranging it — I felt wonderfully liberated. Hell, I even raised an eyebrow in celebration.

My Botox days started 18 years ago, when, at the age of 29 I was asked by a magazine to test this radical new treatment. It really did seem to work magic, and although I wasn’t plagued with wrinkles, I had injections sporadically over the years, when I started to look tired.

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Fighting Wrinkles With Lasers Scientifically Unraveled

Laser pulses enable skin rejuvenation, as research at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has shown. Laser treatment introduces heat into the skin. Under the influence of heat shocks of 45°C, skin cells produce more collagen. This is the protein that gives the skin its firmness and elasticity. Susanne Dams describes this process in the dissertation for which she gained her PhD degree from the Biomedical Engineering Department at TU/e.

Laser treatment is quite common in the practices of beauticians and dermatologists. Although the technique has been widely used for many years, its impact and the underlying processes are still to be unraveled.

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Is having cosmetic work done the new normal?

As more ordinary women opt to undergo cosmetic work, Justine Picardie argues they are losing more than just a few wrinkles in their quest for ageless perfection.

Earlier this month I found myself sitting next to Courtney Love during Paris Fashion Week. At 47, she looked astonishingly smooth of complexion - her skin unwrinkled, her cheeks and lips as plump as a Renaissance cherub. But beneath her dewy foundation, there were faint signs of yellow bruises, as if this fresh face had blossomed out of a fight.

It's never easy to untangle hard facts from candy-floss gossip in the reporting of celebrity cosmetic procedures; but several newspapers have commented approvingly on Love's new look, and attributed it to Dr Sam Rizk, a New York surgeon who performs a 'stem-cell facelift', whereby the patient's own fat and adult stem cells are extracted, separated and then injected back into the face. This is, apparently, the latest breakthrough in the quest for youthfulness - with more desirable results than the obvious facelifts of the past, which gave everyone the same scarily tautened skin and identikit noses.


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Laser Hair Loss Therapy Advice From The Consulting Room

The history of baldness cures that don’t involve some form of surgery can be summed up rather succinctly. From prehistory to the late 1980s, nothing worked. All baldness cures were figuratively and often literally snake oil.

Then came Minoxidil (marketed in the UK as Regaine®) followed quickly by Finasteride (marketed in the UK as Propecia®); see the hair loss drugs section. These products can prevent hair loss and in some cases, grow new hair.

Genes are behind most of the bald and thinning heads out there, male and female. You can inherit baldness from your mother or your father. Baldness is not passed only through the mother's side, a quick look at the countless number of bald fathers and sons will nullify this myth.

There are now a wide range of products, from custom hair replacement systems to laser hair loss therapy devices, (both in salon and at home hand-held comb devices) available on the market, which claim to provide a solution to hair loss.

The use of low-level laser therapy (LLLT), although shown in some studies to be effective in improving the thickness and fullness of hair on its own*, is often combined with proven scalp and hair re-growth products, (see the hair loss drugs section), for a full hair loss treatment program.

Low-level laser hair loss therapy is now recognized throughout Europe and in the United States as an effective treatment for most forms of hair loss, including male and female pattern baldness. It is suitable for anybody who is in the early stages of thinning.

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How 'mummy tummy' became the latest body image anxiety

A cosmetic cream, said to help reduce a woman's post-natal stomach bulge, has been launched - prompting reports of rush buying. But why does it seem women are suddenly worried about this most natural result of pregnancy?

It's a miracle apparently. A new cream costing £18.85 with "fat-burning ingredients" that can help banish a mummy tummy - the softness around the midriff most women are left with after having a baby.

That women worry about their stomachs - and bodies - after giving birth is nothing new. The average woman puts on two-and-a-half stone during pregnancy, so it's no wonder her stomach muscles are left looser than they were.

But in recent years this natural body change has been given its own moniker. At the same time, the raft of celebrity-focused magazines and tabloid newspapers seem to be keeping a watching brief on which famous mothers are winning - and losing - their battle with this baby bulge.

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Vampire therapy: It might sound ghoulish, but having your blood sucked out and cleaned could work miracles

Another miracle cure from the Daily Mail. I think a skin laser would possibly have the same anti-aging effect as it energises the blood circulation resulting in healthier skin cells and of course can also be used for healing wounds among other things.

"The thought of having blood drained from your body, treated under ultraviolet light, then pumped back in sounds like something out of a Hallowe’en horror film.

But blood cleansing, the latest health-boosting treatment to reach our shores, claims to not only energise you, but aid a host of medical and skin concerns, too.

UVB Photo-biological Stimulation therapy (UVB therapy) involves a small amount (50ml) of blood being extracted from the body and passed, via a tube connection, to a machine where it’s briefly exposed to UV light then redirected into the bloodstream.
It sounds ghoulish and a little bizarre, but this 15-minute treatment is widely used in Germany and Russia. And now the treatment is available in the UK.

Blood cleansing makes some impressive claims from perking up energy levels, strengthening the immune system and increasing metabolism, to reducing the symptoms of diabetes, allergies and improving skin conditions such as acne and dermatitis.

But can exposing our blood to light actually improve our wellbeing?

The theory is, that when there is not enough oxygen in the blood, there is also a lack of energy in the blood’s cells which can lead to poor circulation. This is when illness can strike.

‘UVB therapy works to re-oxygenate the bloodstream, re-energise the body and boost the immune system, which is vital for inner health and wellbeing,’ says Dr Robert Stelzer, a specialist, who has been administering the treatment for more than a decade."

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No surgery required: Can Denise Van Outen's miracle cream really banish mummy tummy?

Not lasers but a miracle cream! Oh if this only did work, how happy we would all be.
This is what the Daily Mail says,

"The beauty bloggers claim its toning and skin-tightening effects are comparable to having surgery.

Small wonder then that this £18.85 ‘miracle’ cream – which claims to banish the dreaded mummy tummy – is flying off the shelves.

The cream caused havoc at Harvey Nichols when it went on sale, triggering a stampede which saw it selling out in London and Manchester within an hour.

‘People are saying the effect is amazing,’ said one skincare sales assistant.

Chemist Boots started stocking the product, but it too sold out after a rush on the cream made it last month’s bestseller.

More than 850 customers are now on the waiting list for a tube of the Nip+Fab Tummy Fix, the next delivery of which should arrive next week.

Kimberley Walsh, Denise Van Outen, Alexandra Burke, Diane Vickers and Ellie Goulding have all declared themselves to be fans of the cream, which was developed by the team behind the luxury Rodial body-sculpting range."

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