Atlanta—Repeated topical use of products containing lavender oil and/or tea tree oil may cause prepubertal gynecomastia, a rare condition resulting in enlarged breast tissue in pre-pubescent boys and for which a cause is seldom identified.

According to a study conducted by National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, there may be a link between the use of products containing these oils and the rare disorder. The study appeared in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study’s authors note that their research confirms what a Colorado pediatric endocrinologist suspected after diagnosing three of his young male patients with prepubertal gynecomastia. The three otherwise healthy Caucasian boys, ages four, seven and 10 years, had normal hormonal levels when they were diagnosed with gynecomastia, and all had used either lavender-scented soap and skin lotions or shampoos or styling products that contained tea tree oil and lavender oil as ingredients. In each case, the gynecomastia subsided or resolved several months after use of the products were discontinued.

The study’s authors caution that more research is needed determine the prevalence of prepubertal gynecomastia in boys using products containing tea-tree and and/or lavender oil. At this point, write the researchers, the study’s findings are applicable only to young males with unexplainable enlarged breasts who are regularly using products containing the oils.

“We want to encourage doctors who may be seeing patients with gynecomastia to ask their patients about the products they are using,” write the study’s authors, adding that patients with prepubertal gynecomastia may want to consider reducing the use of products that contain tea-tree and/or lavender oil.

The results of the research confirm that pure lavender and tea-tree oils can mimic the actions of estrogens and inhibit the effects of androgens. The study notes that the oils might now be considered endocrine disruptors, since they appeared to have caused an imbalance in estrogen and androgen signaling.

San Mateo, Calif.—A survey commissioned by San Mateo-based BioForm Medical, maker and marketer of the filler Radiesse, says that more than 22 million women 35 years of age and older would be more willing to be treated with an injectable filler for facial wrinkles if it were more affordable, longer-lasting and stimulated collagen growth, reports news source CosmeticsDesign.com.

The survey also found that more than 45 million women said they were more likely to worry about facial signs of aging than bodily signs of aging; 60 per cent of respondents said they thought men would find a beautiful face more “kissable” than a beautiful body; and 34 per cent of women between the ages of 35 and 44 reported feeling less attractive when facial wrinkles appeared, while 17 per cent aged 45 to 54 and 22 percent aged 55 and older reported the same.

Atlanta—A new study suggests that an increasing number of people are not using proper sun-protection measures, reports HealthDay News.

The study, published recently in the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, says that the percentage of American adults who suffered sunburn increased from 31.8 percent to 33.7 percent during years the between 1999 to 2004, suggesting that warnings about using proper sun protection aren’t being heeded.

The study also found that significant portions of most racial and ethnic groups reported getting sunburned in the three years—1999, 2003 and 2004—during which the survey data was collected.

Overall, according to the study, men were more likely to get sunburned (35.8 percent in 1999, 37 percent in 2003 and 2004) than women (28 percent, 30.2 percent and 30.3 percent, respectively).

The highest rate of sunburn prevalence among whites in any of the three years was in Utah (51.3 percent in 2003), while the lowest was in Arizona (25.7 percent in 1999). Twenty states reported a statistically significant increase in sunburn rates among whites, while four states—Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and Louisiana—reported a significant decrease.

Ann Arbor, Mich.—A University of Michigan Medical School study suggests that lotion containing vitamin A (retinol) may help reduce age-induced wrinkles and help boost production of skin-building compounds, reports HealthDay News.

The study, findings of which were published in the May issue of the Archives of Dermatology, involved 36 elderly people (average age, 87) on whom researchers applied 0.4 percent retinol lotion to the upper-arm and control lotion with no retinol to the other arm. The lotions were applied up to three times a week for 24 weeks.

The researchers graded the wrinkles, roughness and overall severity of skin aging before treatment and at two, four, eight, 16 and 24 weeks after starting treatment. Skin biopsies from both arms were taken at the beginning and end of the 24-week treatment period.

The study found that wrinkles, roughness and overall aging were significantly reduced where the retinol lotion had been applied, compared with the arms treated with the control lotion.

Post-treatment biopsies showed increased production of glycosaminoglycan and procollagen on arms that received the retinol lotion.

The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Babcock Endowment for Dermatologic Research, the Merck-American Federation for Aging Research and the Alpha Omega Alpha Student Research Fellowship.

Philadelphia—A University of Pennsylvania research team studying wound-healing in mice has happened upon a discovery that may lead to a way to reverse hair loss in humans, reports HealthDay News.

During their study, the researchers noticed that study mice developed new hair follicles after their skin was scraped. The study’s authors note that this is rather unusual because the conventional wisdom has always been that an animal or human can develop no new hair follicles.

Though the discovery does not prove that new follicle growth occurs in wounded humans, the researchers say they are hopeful that it can be done—especially considering that current treatments for baldness do not create new follicles to replace those that have died.

The study’s authors write that something in the mice’s healing process apparently reprogrammed stem cells in the skin to start making new follicles, and that the new appeared to sprout hair. They speculated that perhaps future hair-growth treatment could be achieved through a form of dermabrasion, because the wounds that seemed to cause the hair regrowth in the mice were similar to the wounds caused by dermabrasion.

The study authors also note that their findings may lead to a way to treat burn victims by producing skin grafts that look and function like normal skin.

The study appears in the May 17 issue of the journal Nature.

San Diego—Surgical-instrument maker Tulip BioMed, based here, has released results of research showing that despite cleaning, residue remains in reusable closed-end cannulas that have been previously used in plastic-surgery procedures, reports MedicalNewsToday.

The Tulip-commissioned research was conducted by a team of doctors at the University of California San Diego Medical Center’s Division of Plastic Surgery. Examinations of the interior surfaces of Tulip and non-Tulip disposable cannulas used in surgical settings revealed residue even after cleaning and sterilization.

MedicalNewsToday quoted Tulip executive Richard P. Burgoon Jr. as saying, “While we cannot state that any residue that may remain on the interior surface of reusable cannulas, despite cleaning and sterilization, are ‘contaminants,’ these results suggest that there may be the potential for the transfer of protein-residue material from one patient to another when reusable cannulas are utilized. Whether or not this could pose a safety or health risk to a patient is not known, and while no such risks may exist, this may be an issue for discussion between a physician and their patient.”

Burgoon went on to say that the company view is that given the results of the research, reusable cannulas might now be used with less frequency on a patient-to-patient basis, and with increased frequency of replacement. The company notes that a reusable cannula typically is used multiple times on multiple patients over several years before a physician replaces it with a new one.

Q: I heard about Perlane being approved just recently. What is it and how is it different from other fillers?a: Perlane is a new form of Restylane, a filler used for plumping lips, cheeks and other areas around the face. Perlane has a little more longevity than Restylane and can be used for deeper wrinkles. It lasts for more than six months in most people, and has little or no downtime associated with it, although some people may have bruising or swelling, as with other fillers. Made from hyaluronic acid, a natural substance that is actually produced in your own body, Perlane is associated with very few reactions, and most people tolerate it very well. We performed the trials on Perlane and our patients seemed to like it, so I am enthusiastic about its potential.