Topical Antiseptics and the Skin Microbiota

The menstrual cycle regularity and skin: irregular menstrual cycle affects skin physiological properties and skin bacterial microbiome in urban Chinese women

BACKGROUND

The regularity of the menstrual cycle directly affects women's health. Many studies have focused on menstrual health; however, menstrual cycle regularity-related variations in skin physiological characteristics and skin microbiota have been seldom investigated.

METHODS

To investigate the menstrual cycle regularity-related variations in skin physiological characteristics and skin microbiota of 197 cases of Chinese women aged 18-35 years living in shanghai in 2021. Based on a self-evaluation questionnaire, the volunteers were divided into three groups C1 (those with a regular menstrual cycle), C2 (those with a less regular menstrual cycle) and C3 (those with an irregular menstrual cycle). The physiological parameters of facial skin were measured by non-invasive methods and the skin microbiome was analyzed by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing.

RESULTS

In the C3 group, the hydration content was significantly decreased (p < 0.05), the TEWL was significantly increased (p < 0.05), and the sebum content was increased (p > 0.05), indicating that the skin barrier integrity weakened with increased menstrual cycle irregularity. Additionally, the melanin level, L value and b value were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in the C3 group, but the a value was significantly increased (p < 0.001), which indicated that the skin color became darker. Furthermore, the skin microbiota diversity decreased with increasing cycle irregularity, but the differences were not significant. The skin microbiota composition showed that the proportion of Firmicutes, Acinetobacter, Staphylococcus and Cutibacterium were increased in those with an irregular menstrual cycle, indicating that alterations in the ratio of bacterial phyla and/or genera might disturb skin homeostasis. Spearman correlation analysis revealed strong correlations between the microbiota and skin physiological parameters. Based on the associations among hormones, skin physiological parameters and skin microbiota, it is possible that the skin physiological parameters, as well as the skin microbial diversity and composition, change with hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle.

CONCLUSIONS

An irregular menstrual cycle can affect skin physiological characteristics and the skin microbiota. Female with an irregular menstrual cycle should strengthen skin care practices and use skin care products with moisturising and soothing effects to protect their skin.

Microbiome Contributions to Health

The human microbiome is vast and is present in spaces previously thought to be sterile such as the lungs. A healthy microbiome is diverse and functions in an adaptive way to support local as well as organism health and function. Furthermore, a normal microbiome is essential for normal immune system development rendering the array of microbes that live in and on the human body key components of homeostasis. A wide array of clinical conditions and interventions including anesthesia, analgesia, and surgical intervention may derange the human microbiome in a maladaptive fashion with bacterial responses spanning decreased diversity to transformation to a pathogenic phenotype. Herein, we explore the normal microbiome of the skin, gastrointestinal tract, and the lungs as prototype sites to describe the influence of the microbiomes in each of those locations on health, and how care may derange those relations.

Charting the landscape of the environmental exposome

The exposome depicts the total exposures in the lifetime of an organism. Human exposome comprises exposures from environmental and humanistic sources. Biological, chemical, and physical environmental exposures pose potential health threats, especially to susceptible populations. Although still in its nascent stage, we are beginning to recognize the vast and dynamic nature of the exposome. In this review, we systematically summarize the biological and chemical environmental exposomes in three broad environmental matrices-air, soil, and water; each contains several distinct subcategories, along with a brief introduction to the physical exposome. Disease-related environmental exposures are highlighted, and humans are also a major source of disease-related biological exposures. We further discuss the interactions between biological, chemical, and physical exposomes. Finally, we propose a list of outstanding challenges under the exposome research framework that need to be addressed to move the field forward. Taken together, we present a detailed landscape of environmental exposome to prime researchers to join this exciting new field.

Topical Antiseptic Formulations for Skin and Soft Tissue Infections

Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are usually acute conditions of inflammatory microbial occupation of the skin layers and underlying soft tissues. SSTIs are one of the most frequent types of infection, typically requiring medical intervention and contribute to morbidity and mortality in both primary care and hospitalised patients. Due to the dramatic rise of antibiotic resistance, antiseptic agents can be potential alternatives for the prevention and treatment of SSTIs. Notably, they are commonly recommended in many global practical guidelines for use in per- and post- operative procedures. A range of antiseptics, including chlorhexidine, triclosan, alcohol, and povidone-iodine, are used and are mainly formulated as traditional, simple dosage forms such as solutions and semi-solids. However, in recent years, there have been studies reporting the potential for nanotechnology in the delivery of antiseptics. In this review, we have collated the scientific literature that focuses on topical antiseptic formulations for prevention and treatment of SSTIs, and have divided findings into traditional and advanced formulations. We conclude that although nanotechnological formulations have demonstrated potential advantages for delivering drugs; nevertheless, there is still scope for traditional formulations and further development of optimised topical formulations to address the rise of antimicrobial resistance.