A common nail salon tool may cause DNA damage
Radiation from nail dryers may damage DNA and cause cancer-causing mutations in human cells, a study has found — and that might have you wondering whether your regular gel mani-pedi is worth the risk.Get more news about factory direct sale medical hydrogel wholesaler,you can vist our website!
Some dermatologists say the findings, in a study published in January in the journal Nature Communications, aren’t new when it comes to concerns about ultraviolet, or UV, light from any source. In fact, the results reaffirm the reason why some dermatologists have changed the way they get their gel manicures or have stopped getting them altogether.
“The findings contribute to data already published regarding the harmful effects of (ultraviolet) radiation and show direct cell death and damage to tissue that can lead to skin cancer,” said Dr. Julia Curtis, an assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Utah, who wasn’t involved in the study.
A form of electromagnetic radiation, ultraviolet light has a wavelength ranging from 10 to 400 nanometers, according to the UCAR Center for Science Education.
Ultraviolet A light (315 to 400 nanometers), found in sunlight, penetrates the skin more deeply and is commonly used in UV nail dryers, which have become popular over the past decade. Tanning beds use 280 to 400 nanometers, while the spectrum used in nail dryers is 340 to 395 nanometers, according to a news release for the study.
“If you look at the way these devices are presented, they are marketed as safe, with nothing to be concerned about,” said corresponding author Ludmil Alexandrov in the news release. “But to the best of our knowledge, no one has actually studied these devices and how they affect human cells at the molecular and cellular levels until now.” Alexandrov holds dual titles as associate professor of bioengineering and cellular and molecular medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
Researchers exposed cells from humans and mice to UV light, finding that a 20-minute session led to 20% to 30% of cells dying. Three consecutive 20-minute exposures made 65% to 70% of the exposed cells die. The remaining cells experienced mitochondrial and DNA damage, resulting in mutations with patterns that have been observed in skin cancer in humans.
The biggest limitation of the study is that exposing cell lines to UV light is different from conducting the study on living humans and animals, said dermatologist Dr. Julie Russak, founder of Russak Dermatology Clinic in New York City. Russak wasn’t involved in the study.
“When we’re doing it (irradiating) inside human hands, there’s definitely a difference,” Russak said. “Most of the UV irradiation is absorbed by the top layer of the skin. When you irradiate cells in the petri dish directly, that’s slightly different. You don’t have any protection from the skin, from corneocytes or the top layers. It’s also very direct UVA irradiation.”
But this study, taken with previous evidence — such as case reports of people developing squamous cell carcinomas, the second most common form of skin cancer, in association with UVA dryers — means we should “definitely think harder about just exposing our hands and our fingers to UVA light without any protection,” said Dr. Shari Lipner, an associate professor of clinical dermatology and director of the nail division at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Lipner wasn’t involved in the study.