ORLANDO – “Consider the effects of the mind on the skin when treating patients with some skin diseases.” That was the message of several speakers during a session titled “The Skin and the Mind” at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.
“I certainly believe that the time has come to use stress alleviation techniques, at least for selected patients, and this should certainly be part of our armamentarium in the clinic,” said Richard D. Granstein, MD, George W. Hambrick Jr. professor and chairman of the department of dermatology, Cornell University, New York. During the session, he spoke about the emerging science of stress in dermatology.
While it has long been believed that stress exacerbates different skin diseases, the connection has been difficult to prove scientifically, he pointed out. However, “the overwhelming number of reports and studies indicate that stress probably does exacerbate a number of inflammatory skin diseases,” he added.
In a video interview at the meeting, Dr. Granstein notes that a number of pathways that help explain this link have now been identified and discusses one of those pathways, which involves neuropeptides and future directions in understanding the relationship between stress and inflammatory skin diseases.
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Dr. Granstein disclosed serving as an advisor to Castle Biosciences, Elysium Health, Galderma Laboratories, and Velius.