Skin permeability barrier recovery

Several new strategies are available to accelerate skin permeability barrier recovery after injury. Here, I will describe our recent work on improving barrier homeostasis with new reagents and new materials, and discuss the implications for clinical dermatology. 

Effects of Neurotransmitter Receptor Agonists and Antagonists on Skin Permeability Barrier Recovery... 

Fuziwara, S., Ogawa, K., Aso, D., Yoshizawa, D., Takata, S. and Denda, M., Barium sulfate with a negative f potential accelerates skin permeable barrier recovery and prevents epidermal hyperplasia indueced by barrier disruption. Br. J. Dermarol. 151 557-564, 2004. 

Mao-Qiang, M., Feingold, K.R., and Elias, P.M. Exogenous lipids influence permeability barrier recovery in acetone treated murine skin. Arch. Dermatol. 129, 728-738 (1993). 

Rawlings AV, Davies A, Carlomusto M, Pillai S, Zhang K, Kosturko R, Verdejo P, Feinberg C, Nguyen L, Chandar P (1996) Effect of lactic acid isomers on keratinocyte ceramide synthesis, stratum corneum lipid levels and stratum corneum barrier function. Arch Dermatol Res 288 383-390 Reed JT, Ghadially R, Elias PM (1995) Skin type, but neither race nor gender, influence epidermal permeability barrier recovery. Arch Dermatol 131 1134-1138... 

Probably the most widely reported information concerning petrolatum s effect on damaged skin was a 1992 article by Ghadially and coworkers.71 Newspapers across the United States reported the results of this study, which showed that, when applied to skin that had been damaged by acetone, petrolatum accelerated the recovery of the skin s normal barrier properties. It was noted that this is in contrast to materials that are highly impermeable to water vapor (such as polyethylene films) which hinder barrier repair. However, another publication has indicated that the repair of the permeability barrier in human skin is not delayed by occlusion.72... 

In addition to restoring the clinical appearance of xerotic skin, lanolin can also accelerate the restoration of normal barrier function to normal skin that has been acutely perturbed. Elias and colleagues have demonstrated that lanolin accelerated epidermal barrier recovery following perturbation with acetone.41 Three percent lanolin not only significantly (p < 0.001) decreased the TEWL at 45 min, but also after 4 h compared to vehicle-treated sites (Table 25.1). However, the rate of barrier recovery of lanolin-treated sites between 45 min and 4 h was not significantly different compared to vehicle treatment. This indicates that lanolin has an immediate effect on restoring a permeability barrier and does not interfere with the process of lamellar body extrusion and lipid synthesis, which are required for continued recovery. The effect of 3% lanolin on barrier recovery was very similar to that of the optimized ratio of stratum corneum lipids (ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids).42,43... 

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