Sunless Tanning Product Users Sunbathe Less
Young adult females who use tanning lotions and other sunless tanning products tend to sunbathe and use tanning salons less than other women of their age, researchers from Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, reported in Archives of Dermatology. They added that the more a woman used sunless tanning products, the less she tended to sunbathe or use tanning salons. The authors explained as background information: "Despite the growing popularity of sunless tanning products (STPs), their effect on tanning behaviors has yet to be fully explored.
Sun's UV Rays May Stop Spread Of Chickenpox
If you look at the evidence to date from a different perspective, a virologist at St George's Hospital, University of London in the UK believes it suggests the sun's UV rays inactivate the chickenpox virus on the skin before it has a chance to transmit to another person, thus explaining why the disease spreads less readily in tropical countries. Dr Phil Rice told the press last week he hopes his findings will lead to new ways to prevent chickenpox and its more severe cousin, shingles. The idea that ultraviolet (UV) rays can inactivate viruses is not new, but this is the first time that such firm conclusions have been made in connection with the varicella-zoster virus, the herpes virus responsible for chickenpox and shingles.
Roche Melanoma Drug Gets European Green Light
The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) announced today its recommendation that Zelboraf (vemurafenib), an innovative protein-kinase inhibitor, used to treat metastatic or unresectable melanoma (where it cannot be surgically removed or has spread to other parts of the body) with BRAF V600 mutations, be granted marketing authorization. Melanoma has a 90% survival rate when treated early, and is relatively easy to deal with, in part due to its location on the surface of the skin.