Crossing the Teas
For too long, folks who suffer from psoriasis and dandruff have had access only to treatments that are accompanied by dangerous side effects—such as the use of ultraviolet light which can lead to skin cancer, for one. The good news is that a new, safer treatment may be just over the horizon.
Interestingly, it's something you normally drink: green tea. As you've most likely heard, green tea is celebrated for its many health benefits—thanks to its powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Now, researchers are looking to see if they can lasso some of that power and focus it on healing inflammatory skin diseases. In a preliminary study, animals that were treated with green tea showed slower growth of skin cells—an application that would be helpful in controlling the overproduction of cells normally found in autoimmune skin diseases.
Green tea also helps regulate Caspase-14, a protein marker responsible for regulating skin cells. It signals them when to split, die, or form a protective barrier. But that's when the process is working efficiently. When it's malfunctioning, the skin cells aren't dying when they're supposed to—as more are being created. This leads to the formation of painful lesions.
In this particular experiment, researchers found that green tea could reduce the ramped-up speed found in these types of inflammatory skin diseases—ones in which the skin cell multiplication is not functioning correctly.
Prior to treatment, the antigen called PCNA (which stimulates immune response in the body), was found in all of the layers of the skin. When the system is working the way it's supposed to, PCNA is found only in the basal skin layer, which is the innermost skin level. Skin cells are manufactured there, pushing the older cells up and out to make way for the new ones—a constant process of overturning.
But after treatment with the green tea, the PCNA levels were close to normal and found only where they should be—in those basal layers.
Unfortunately, conventional treatments for psoriasis, such as medication and the use of ultraviolet light, can cause squamous-cell carcinoma. Skin cancer in exchange for clear skin hardly seems a rational choice to give to a patient. But considering how painful and embarrassing this condition can be, some patients might be inclined to take their chances—just to find relief. Then, you need to consider dandruff shampoos: You pour out a bit of carcinogen in each and every application and then rub it all over your head. Many leading dandruff shampoos contain coal tar—recognized by even the FDA as a carcinogen. Imagine how many people are doing these things every day—to avoid dandruff, of all things!
Green tea holds promise, as long as some hiccups in the processing can be smoothed out. The chemicals in green tea are highly active, which is good news in one sense but bad news in another. This high level of activity causes them to oxidize too quickly when they're mixed with other substances, which means the leaves turn brown and it becomes stale. This is something that needs to be resolved.
Also, these chemicals dissolve in water, which means they won't get through the skin's protective barrier and will roll right off, so researchers are looking to create a fat-soluble formulation.
