• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Elias and Williams: The Inside-Out of Skin by dermatologists and skin researchers Peter M. Elias, M.D. and Mary L. Williams, M.D.

The Inside-Out of Skin

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About
  • For Professsionals
  • The Story of EpiCeram®
  • Publications
  • Press Room
  • Contact Us
  • INSIDE THE SKIN BARRIER
  • SKIN DISORDERS
  • REPAIRING THE SKIN BARRIER
  • CLIMATE AND THE SKIN
  • Q&A
You are here: Home / Archives for Research: From The Elias Lab

Research from the Elias Lab

For nearly forty years, this University of California San Francisco-based research laboratory has focused on elucidating the structural and metabolic basis for the barrier function of the skin, including work aimed at understanding the cause and treatment of skin diseases.

Highlights from the 2013 International Investigative Dermatology (IID) Meeting in Edinburgh: Introduction

May 15, 2013 By Peter M. Elias, M.D. & Mary L. Williams, M.D. 1 Comment

Edinburgh Castle

Every 4 years, the Eurorpean, North American and Japanese dermatologic research societies host a joint meeting. Last week the 2013 International Investigative Dermatology meeting took place in Edinburgh, Scotland. Over the next several days we will summarize some of the highlights of research on the skin barrier that was presented there, alternating posts of research from the Elias group with work coming from other laboratories around the world. [Read more…] about Highlights from the 2013 International Investigative Dermatology (IID) Meeting in Edinburgh: Introduction

Highlights of the 2013 IID. Part 1: Evolution and filaggrin mutations vs. vitamin D production

May 14, 2013 By Peter M. Elias, M.D. 6 Comments

Did latitude-dependent differences in prevalence of filaggrin mutations evolve to support cutaneous vitamin D production? JP Thyssen and PM Elias.

Skin became more lightly pigmented when modern humans migrated northward out of Africa into Europe and Asia. Evolutionary biologists increasingly accept the hypothesis that pigmentation lightened in order to allow more ultraviolet light to enter the skin, where it can then stimulate the formation of additional vitamin D.

In a recent article in the Journal of Human Evolution, we provided many reasons why this hypothesis is flawed and suggested instead that pigment dilution developed as a form of ‘metabolic conservation’. While abundant pigment was needed to protect our skin from the intense ultraviolet light of equatorial Africa, it was no longer needed in the weaker light of the higher latitudes. Hence, mutations arising in the genes for pigment-producing proteins that reduced pigmentation were retained, because they allowed skin to divert energy towards other, more urgent requirements. [Read more…] about Highlights of the 2013 IID. Part 1: Evolution and filaggrin mutations vs. vitamin D production

What Allows Our Skin Cells to Shed?

May 10, 2013 By Peter M. Elias, M.D. Leave a Comment

epidermis labelled 2 640
Layers of the Epidermis. Illustration by Jessica C. Kraft

The epidermis is a self-renewing system. Old cells (or ‘squames’) are shed from the skin surface as new cells (‘keratinocytes’) are produced in the underlying epidermis and pushed outward into the stratum corneum to become ‘corneocytes’. In normal skin, the process of desquamation is invisible and imperceptible.  But in some skin diseases, the production of cells may increase and/or the mechanism of shedding may be faulty, resulting in the visible build-up and eventual shedding of unsightly scales, such as what commonly occurs as previously sunburned skin peels away or… [Read more…] about What Allows Our Skin Cells to Shed?

Why Early Humans Needed Dark Skin

April 9, 2013 By Peter M. Elias, M.D. & Mary L. Williams, M.D. Leave a Comment

human evolution 550
Human evolution from the equatorial African forests to the temperate zone.
    Illustration by Jessica C. Kraft

The skin under the dark fur of most mammals  is pale or non-pigmented. Polar bears are an interesting exception to this rule – they have reversed the dark hair/light skin paradigm: their white hairs provide camouflage against the snow and ice, while their pigmented skin can absorb what little warmth the Arctic sun provides.  Ancestors of modern human, like other primates, also had pale skin under their dense coats of pigmented hair.  [Read more…] about Why Early Humans Needed Dark Skin

The Seasons and the Skin Barrrier

March 14, 2013 By Peter M. Elias, M.D. Leave a Comment

It is common knowledge that many skin disorders, such as atopic dermatitis, get worse in the winter, but there is little agreement about the reasons for this phenomenon. Recently, a group of investigators in Australia observed that the severity of atopic dermatitis is related to latitude, and proposed that this could be the result of decreased vitamin D production from the weaker light at higher latitudes. We have suggested an alternate explanation for their findings: [Read more…] about The Seasons and the Skin Barrrier

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

FOR PROFESSIONALS

  • Professionals Home Page
  • Research: From The Elias Lab
  • Research: From Around The World
  • About Elias and Williams
  • Press Room
  • Contact Elias and Williams

GET OUR SPECIAL REPORT

Elias and Williams Taking Good Care of Your Skin Guide logo

Image: "Taking Good Care of Your Skin" Special Report by Peter M. Elias, M.D. and Mary L. Williams, M.D.

This booklet offers up-to-date scientific information on how the skin works to keep us healthy and what we can do to keep our skin healthy and beautiful.

Yes, Send Me the Guide

INSIDE THE SKIN BARRIER

The Skin Microbiome: Good Bugs And The Bugs That Bug Us

January 7, 2020 By Peter M. Elias, M.D.

We hear a lot about the multitude and diversity the micro-organisms – especially the bacteria - that … Read More...

MORE FROM INSIDE THE SKIN BARRIER >>

SKIN DISORDERS

Dry Skin: Who Is At Risk and What Can Be Done About It?

December 1, 2019 By Peter M. Elias, M.D. Leave a Comment

Who is at risk? Many people are prone to develop dry skin. Examples include those who have or … Read More...

MORE FROM SKIN DISORDERS

REPAIRING THE SKIN BARRIER

The How and Why of Sensitive Skin

November 1, 2018 By Peter M. Elias, M.D. 1 Comment

An alarming percentage (about 60%) of normal adults, mostly women, self-report that they regularly … Read More...

MORE FROM REPAIRING THE SKIN BARRIER >>

CLIMATE AND THE SKIN

The Skin’s Many Barriers and Climate Change

October 9, 2020 By Mary L Williams, M.D.

Skin's Many Barriers And How Climate Change May Affect Them Skin has many barriers: it keeps us … Read More...

MORE FROM CLIMATE AND THE SKIN >>

Q & A

Q& A: Preventing Dry Skin From COVID-19 Hand Washing And Toxic Hand Sanitizers

December 1, 2020 By Peter M. Elias, M.D. & Mary L. Williams, M.D. Leave a Comment

Q: I have developed dry skin from COVID-19 because I have to wash my hands so often. Hand sanitizers … Read More...

MORE FROM Q&A >>

Research: From The Elias Lab

Top 5 Scientific Discoveries About Skin Of The Decade

December 26, 2019 By Peter M. Elias, M.D. & Mary L. Williams, M.D. Leave a Comment

We have learned a lot about skin and its permeability barrier in recent years.  Here are our … Read More...

MORE FROM THE ELIAS LAB >>

Research: From Labs Around the World

Top 5 Scientific Discoveries About Skin Of The Decade

December 26, 2019 By Peter M. Elias, M.D. & Mary L. Williams, M.D. Leave a Comment

We have learned a lot about skin and its permeability barrier in recent years.  Here are our … Read More...

MORE FROM RESEARCH AROUND THE WORLD >>

  • INSIDE THE SKIN BARRIER
  • SKIN DISORDERS
  • REPAIRING THE SKIN BARRIER
  • CLIMATE AND THE SKIN
  • Q&A
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • EPICERAM®
  • PRESS ROOM
  • FOR PROFESSIONALS
  • Research From The Elias Lab
  • Research From Around the World
  • CONTACT US
  • FREE Taking Good Care of Your Skin
  • FREE Primer On The Skin Barrier
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2013-2020 Elias Williams Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Cookie Policy · Disclaimer · Design by Cheryl McLaughlin