From Desperate Housewives to Brangelina, it seems that everyone loves a good controversy. And even the medical world is not exempt from being infected of a few of its own. Here are some of the most recent shockers in the world of dermatology (and while there isn’t one misplaced stocking in sight, they’re still pretty juicy…):
1. Sunscreen may increase free radical-induced damage (and signs of aging).
In a 2006 study in Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Kerry Hanson et al. demonstrated for the three sunscreen ingredients octocrylene, octylmethoxycinnamate, and benzophenone-3, the number of potentially damaging agents is heightened for the sunscreen user. These potentially damaging agents include reactive oxidative species (ROS), which affect DNA damage primarily by increased carbonyl formation in albumin, and free radical production.
Yet, as NYU medical student Laurel Naversen Geraghty points out in this month’s Allure, these ingredients were applied to the skin individually (not in conjunction with other sunscreen ingredients), and on the skin of mice. Furthermore, drinking green tea & antioxidant-rich beverages, and using antioxidants underneath sunscreen (such as Skinceuticals CE Ferulic or the organic Juice Beauty Antioxidant Serum), should combat some of the free radical production. Lastly, over 90% of the visible signs of aging have been attributed to sun damage, and sunscreen use is still considered a key component of prevention by dermatologists.
2. Use of retinoids may increase your likelihood of death.
A study in the January 2009 issue of Archives of Dermatology was halted when it was found that patients who use 0.1% tretinoin cream had a higher chance of dying than patients who used a placebo. The study, started in 1998, involved 1,131 veterans (97 percent men, average age 71) who were randomly assigned to apply either a cream containing 0.1 percent tretinoin or an unmedicated cream daily to their face and ears. Substantially more patients in the tretinoin group (108) died over a six-year period than those who applied the non-tretinoin cream (76).
However, the coincidence and likelihood of non-causality of the tretinoin is mentioned both by the study authors and in a recent article in Medical News Today. It is pointed out that the study did not screen for smokers, and in the tretinoin (treatment) group, 15 patients died of non-small cell lung cancer, 12 of vascular disorders and 15 of respiratory and other chest disorders. It is thereby likely that the tretinoin group coincidentally also included more smokers than did the non-tretinoin group. Furthermore, as the authors themselves point out, “The biological implausibility, lack of specificity of causes of death, inconsistency with previous experience, weakness of other supportive evidence in our data and weak statistical signal cast doubt on a potential causal association of topical tretinoin with death in the VATTC Trial. We do not conclude that this trial provides appropriate grounds for hesitating to use topical tretinoin in clinical practice in the absence of additional evidence.” I think, then, it’s pretty evident that tretinoin is not killing patients!
At any rate, thank you to one of my great readers, Anh, for making me aware of this controversy! 
3. New eyelash growth serums may give you glaucoma.
A January 2009 New York Times article best summarizes the controversy: although it was pulled from the shelves just two years ago, Lumigan (a prostaglandin analog) originally used by opthalmalogists to reduce dangerous pressure in the eyeball, is now being marketed to increase eyelash growth in the $120/month brand-new Latisse. Allergan, the makers of Latisse, maintain that Lumigan (and hence Latisse) is safe, having reportedly paid a pretty penny to have the FDA re-review the ingredient efficiently.
How was the safety and efficacy of Latisse established? In the clinical trial, 280 volunteers were selected. Approximately half of the volunteers used Latisse daily for 16 weeks. The study results were reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration, which approved the drug in late December. According to the New York Times, the review found that only 3.6 percent of patients experienced eye itching and red eyes and none had a change of eye color. More excitingly, eyelashes typically grew 25 percent longer, 106 percent thicker and 18 percent darker.
Therefore, for now, evidence seems as though Latisse is safe, but talk to your physician or ophthamologist if you have specific eye concerns. Further, controversy-free options, like Marini Lash (free of prostaglandins!) still exist.
So, you can’t avoid controversy, even if you’re in a great field like dermatology. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on these topics with updates in the future!
Can you please, please review the MEG 21 cream and also the new M2 Skin tech products? Thank you!!
Hi Angela,
I have a running list of products/news stories to review. I’ll add it to the list, but it usually takes a while to get through everything (right now there are 30 things on the list!)
I’m really sorry…but thank you for the great suggestion! Also, maybe it would help to Google-search the site (see above) for the ingredients in the cream? I am willing to bet that I wrote about most of them already
Hope this helps, and thanks for the request, Angela
-Nicki
Your post has been translated into Spanish and then copied word for word http://juventudbelleza.blogspot.com/2009/02/tres-innecesarios-alarmismos.html
Marta,
Thanks for letting me know! I would appreciate it very much if you would please link back to this original article too.
Thanks!
-Nicki
Lol, its false Marta, I didnt copy word by word, not all information in that post was obtained from this original post. Lets inform first please
March 26, 2009 Allergan, Inc. hosted a star-studded event in Hollywood to launch LATISSE™ Wishes, a charitable public awareness campaign designed to help make wishes come true. Actress Brooke Shields and beauty expert to the stars Anastasia Soare will lead the campaign to generate $1 million to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to granting the wishes of children with lifethreatening medical conditions.
The LATISSE™ Wishes campaign was borne out of the tradition of blowing on an eyelash to make a wish come true and leverages the excitement surrounding the availability of Allergan’s LATISSE™ (bimatoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.03%, the first and only science-based prescription treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for hypotrichosis of the eyelashes (inadequate or not enough lashes) that is used to grow eyelashes, making them
longer, fuller and darker.
“In the short time LATISSE™ has been available, the product has already made many women’s wish lists,” said David E.I. Pyott, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Allergan. “While LATISSE™ may fulfill the wish for more prominent eyelashes, we also wanted to shine the spotlight on the Make-A-Wish Foundation and provide support for the important work it does in granting children’s wishes.”
The LATISSE™ Wishes campaign launched with an initial donation of $500,000 from Allergan to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Consumers are encouraged to help double this amount to $1 million by registering their support at http://www.LATISSE.com to help grant the wishes of children in
their local communities. Between now and December 31, 2009, Allergan will donate $5 for each new visitor who registers online, up to an additional $500,000.
“Every 40 minutes the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants a wish to a child with a life-threatening medical condition. Forty seconds is all it takes to visit http://www.LATISSE.com to register your support and help make wishes come true,” said David Williams, president and chief executive officer of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “We urge everyone to log on to the LATISSE™ Web site and register their support to help grant the wishes of children in their communities.”
“I am delighted to be a part of LATISSE™ Wishes, to not only help educate women on an eyelash growth product that is the first to be scientifically proven, but also to support a worthy organization such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation,” said Shields. “I remember being a child and
blowing on an eyelash hoping my wish would come true, and as a mother I’ve passed this tradition onto my children. Through LATISSE™ Wishes and in partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, we can keep the tradition alive and fulfill the hopes of so many more children
around the country.”
In addition to Shields and Soare, other stars including Debra Messing, Angie Harmon, Marisa Tomei, Mandy Moore, Debi Mazar, Jewel, Jennifer Coolidge and Perrey Reeves attended the red-carpet kick-off event for the LATISSE™ Wishes campaign. Over the next several months, campaign ambassadors Shields and Soare, who both use LATISSE™ solution, will travel to cities across the country hosting informational events aimed to further support the
campaign and its goal of providing $1 million to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Local events will be held in New York, Miami, Dallas, Minneapolis and San Francisco.
“In my business I constantly work to help make women’s beauty wishes come true and now we can help children’s wishes come true through the LATISSE™ Wishes campaign,” said Soare. “I am excited to bring this worthy campaign to cities across the country.”
For more information about the LATISSE™ Wishes charitable awareness campaign, please visit http://www.LATISSE.com.
Latisse is available through prescription at Clear View Eye Care
There’s been alot of blogs on this topic but this is the only informative one I can seem to find!
Shaune here is sure to be very much informed bout Latisse. I’ve also read about the event on one of the sites I’ve visited before.. Great post here by the way. Posts like this who would inform the public about false information on products is a great help.