Monday, July 18, 2005

Sunrays are Proving to be Skin Ally



A new study from the University of New Mexico shows that sunlight may also help melanoma victims survive the disease.

There's more... A second study conducted by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden shows that sunlight may reduce the risk of getting cancer of the lymph glands.

These two new studies have researchers confounded since its long been thought that exposure to the sun is the leading cause of the often fatal skin disease melanoma. Researchers admit that these new findings are totally counterintuitive, reports The Associated Press.

Skin Cancer Study Findings
The five-year study of 528 melanoma victims, researchers found that increased sun exposure actually led to increased survivability stated lead study author Marianne Berwick told AP. The new research iDs two scientific clues as to how sunlight may slow or stop some types of cancer.

Clue No. 1: Vitamin D. Our skin makes this vitamin in response to sunlight. It's an essential vitamin in that it helps regulate cell growth and helps cells stop unneeded growth through a process called apoptosis.

Clue No. 2: Sunlight may help victims survive melanoma through something called solar elastosis, which is a response to sunlight that breaks down collagen in the skin. Or put more simply, this is the same process that causes sun-related wrinkling. "It may be something in solar elastosis itself. It may be that some physical barrier created by this breakdown of collagen keeps the melanoma from getting into the blood and lymph system," Berwick explained to AP.

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Study Results
In a second study conducted by Karin Ekstrom Smedby of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, the research team studied 3,000 people who had lymph cancer and another 3,000 who did not. The results? Increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation through sunbathing and sunburns resulted in a reduced incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, reports AP.

But wait there is still a Strong Warning Against anyone going outside and sunbathing. The ultraviolet radiation of sunlight is still a well documented human carcinogen. So enjoy the sun but... in moderation!

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