Could you ever imagine picking up your morning cup of joe, and instead of drinking it, slathering it over your skin?

A new study indicates that caffeine applied directly to the skin may be able to protect against UV-related sun damage and skin cancer.

Rutgers researchers say that the caffeine guards against certain skin cancers by inhibiting a protein enzyme in the skin called ATR, which in turn slows down non-melanoma tumor growth.

The study found that caffeine worked best at a pre-cancerous stage, as a protective measure rather than a treatment measure.

“Caffeine might become a weapon in prevention because it inhibits ATR and also acts ad as a sunscreen and directly absorbs damaging UV light,” said researcher Allan Conney.

Prior studies have found that coffee is also associated with a decreased risk of several other types of cancer – only in these cases, you can drink it, as opposed to rubbing it on your skin for health benefits.

According to statistics from the National Cancer Institute, sunlight-induced skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the United States. Every year, more than 1 million new cases are diagnosed.

Though researchers are still uncertain as to why exactly coffee is effective, they hope their findings can be utilized as a method of prevention.

People who use tanning beds exhibit brain changes and behavior similar to addicts, according to a new study.

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers say that frequent tanning bed users may actually be spurred on by an addictive reward-and-reinforcement trigger in the brain. This trigger is similar to that seen in people addicted to drugs and alcohol.

The researchers believe their findings may explain why some people continue to use tanning beds despite the increased risk of developing melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer.

“Using tanning beds has rewarding effects in the brain so people may feel compelled to persist in the behavior even though it’s bad for them,” said Dr. Bryon Adinoff, senior author of the study. “The implication is, ‘If it’s rewarding, then could it also be addictive?’ It’s an important question in the field.”

In the study, participants used tanning beds at different times. One time, they were exposed to ultraviolet radiation, and the other, special filters were used to block exposure to UV radiation. Participants were not told which session they were exposed to real or filtered radiation.

After each session, the participants were asked to rate how much they felt like tanning and were also administered a compound that allowed researchers to monitor brain blood flow during tanning.

Approximately 120,000 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed in the United States each year, according to estimates from the Skin Cancer foundation. People younger than 30 who use a tanning bed 10 times a year have eight times the risk of developing cancerous melanoma.

Though this is regarded as common knowledge, the use of tanning beds has continued to rise over the years.
Researchers say the next step is to create technology to study further brain changes resulting from tanning bed use.

The study was published in the journal Addiction Biology.

Sunblock not enough?  A new study suggests grapes may help protect skin cells against harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

According to Spanish researchers, certain compounds in grapes are able to reduce the amount of damage in skin cells exposed to the sun’s radiation.

Ultraviolet radiation is the leading environmental cause of skin health problems, including skin cancer, sunburn and premature wrinkling.

UV rays cause these problems by activating skin compounds called ‘reactive oxygen species’, which cause cell death.  However, it appears that certain components from grapes, called flavanoids, can reduce the the formation of ROS, thus reducing the likelihood of cell death.

Based on these findings, the researchers recommend the use of grapes or grape derivatives in sun protection products.

The study was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Heart transplant patients appear to have an increased risk of serious skin cancers, including cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, according to a new study.

Scientists say this may be because when people receive heart transplants, they require immune medications to keep the body from rejecting the transplant.  The changes to the immune system as a result of the medication may also make them more susceptible to developing cancers.

Northwestern University researchers studied 10 years of data on more than 6000 heart transplant patients at 32 U.S. transplant centers.  They found that heart transplant patients were significantly more likely to get skin cancers than other patients.

The risk increased post-transplant from 4- to 30-fold.

“Improved patient education and appropriately increased screening and detection of skin cancers in heart transplant patients may potentially reduce their risk of serious morbidity and mortality,” advised lead researcher Murad Alam, MD, MSCI, of Northwestern University.

The study was published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

You would never think so looking at it, but the skin is an organ just like the heart or the liver. In fact, it happens to be the largest organ in the body.

The skin, as the border between the self and the outside world, is also the organ that defines us. It protects our internal organs from environmental threats. And for many people, the skin’s appearance, the presence or lack of wrinkles, for instance, is what defines aging, more so than the condition of their vital internal organs. Our skin is very important to us, but skin health is not something to which we give much (or any) thought.

The Skinny on Skin

Number of days it takes for the skin to renew itself: 28

Thickness of human skin in inches: 0.06 to 0.16

Average weight of adult male skin in pounds: 7

Surface area of adult male skin in square feet: 22

Millions of skin cells in average adult: 300

Number of hairs on a square half inch of skin: 10

Number of sweat glands in a square half inch of skin: 100

Number of feet of blood vessels in a square half inch of skin: 3.2

Number of days it takes for the skin to replace itself: 52 to 75

As that part of our body that is the most exposed to the environment, the skin’s greatest threat is the sun’s rays, and overexposure to these rays appears to be the most important factor in the development of skin cancer, which is on the rise worldwide. One out of every five Americans will develop skin cancer, and nearly 10,000 will die from it each year. Skin cancer was long considered a problem only for people over 50, but in the last couple of decades, the rate of skin cancer for people in their forties and younger has multiplied explosively. You need to think about your skin before it’s too late.

Sunny Myths

Sunscreen protects you against all ultraviolet rays from the sun.

FALSE. It protects you from the sun’s UVB rays, but no sunscreen product screens out all UVA rays, which are the cause of melanomas. So just because you put on sunscreen, you are not 100 percent protected.

You don’t need to reapply sunscreen when you come out of the water if you use waterproof sunscreen lotions.

FALSE. There’s no such a thing as a waterproof sunscreen. If you go into the water, you have to reapply these creams immediately because they get washed off.

Suntans are a sign of healthy skin.

FALSE. A tan is a sign of skin damage. The tanning occurs when the skin produces additional pigment (coloring) to protect itself against burns from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

The sun produces two types of ultraviolet radiation. The ultraviolet A (UVA) rays, which penetrate deeper into the skin, are more responsible for melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer. The ultraviolet B (UVB) rays are responsible for sunburns and cause nonmelanomas, the squamous and basal cell skin cancers. Though melanomas account for only 4 percent of skin cancers, they are responsible for nearly 75 percent of all skin cancer deaths. Melanomas usually begin as flat, quarter-inch-sized, mottled, light brown to black blemishes with irregular borders. These blemishes can then turn red, blue, or white; crust on the surface; or bleed. Most frequently seen on the upper back, torso, lower legs, head, and neck, they can occur anywhere on the body.

Anyone can get skin cancer, but you are at increased risk if you

–have a family history of skin cancer

–have many moles or large moles

–have naturally blond or red hair

–have blue or green eyes

–have had five or more sunburns

–have been overexposed to the sun early in life

–are Caucasian with fair skin

While skin cancer is the most common type of cancer, and kills more young women than any other type of cancer, it is also the most preventable.

The best defense against skin cancer is sun protection. Because the sun’s ultraviolet rays can damage the cellular structure of the skin, the use of sun protection is important beginning at a young age and continuing throughout life. Whenever you are out in the sun, it’s a good idea to use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher. Apply it 15 to 30 minutes before going outdoors, and reapply it every two hours. If you can’t avoid being out and about in the hours of peak sunlight—ten a.m. until four p.m.—seek the shade whenever possible and wear a hat, visor, sunglasses, and other protective clothing during prolonged periods of sun exposure.

Since skin cancer has a 95 percent cure rate when detected early, by your late thirties you should have a skin physical every two years. This is particularly important if you are at greater risk for skin cancer. At a skin physical, a dermatologist will go over your entire body looking for atypical birthmarks, blemishes, and moles. This exam could save your life.

Skin cancers aside, chronic sun exposure also creates skin stains and premature wrinkling. Smoking, too, is bad for the skin. On the other hand, the aging of the skin can be slowed by a good diet. Certain foods, like salmon and the omega oils found in salmon, have been found to be extremely beneficial for skin health. On the other hand, while skin creams may reduce dryness, or improve excessive oiliness, they will not alter the overall health of the skin. Creams merely affect the superficial layer of the skin. Good skin health comes from within.

A survey reports that many tanning salons in the United States don’t warn teens and young women about the skin cancer risks posed by tanning beds, according to US News and World Report.

Researchers from The American Academy of Dermatology’s polled more than 3,800 white females aged 14 to 22 from across the country about their tanning knowledge, attitudes and behavior.

The results of the poll found that 43 percent of indoor tanners said they had never been warned about the dangers of tanning beds by tanning salon employees, and 30 percent had not noticed any warning labels on tanning beds.

In addition, the younger users (aged 14 to 17) seemed to have dangerous misconceptions about tanning beds.  Of those polled, 39 percent incorrectly believed that tanning beds are safer than the sun, and 26 percent incorrectly believed that tanning beds do not cause skin cancer.

“Indoor tanning poses a significant health risk,” said Dr. Ronald Moy, president of the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA), in a press release. “Studies have found that UV radiation from indoor tanning beds increases a person’s risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent.”

“Contributing to this problem is the fact that tanning bed facilities currently are not required to verbally warn patrons of the known health risks of UV radiation and, in some cases, they may be misleading the public by falsely promoting artificial UV light as safer than natural sunlight,” he added.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently classifies tanning beds as a Class I medical device, which means they are subject to a minimal level of regulation and oversight.

The AADA supports the Tanning Bed Cancer Control Act, which calls on the FDA to review its classification of indoor tanning beds and to introduce enhanced consumer warning label rules for the devices.

Click here to read more from US News and World Report.