Stress-related cutaneous disorders treated

We have Hans Selye to thank for popularising the idea of physiological stress and showing that stress could have an impact on health. In the 1920s, he studied the body’s reaction or common response, subsequently known as the general adaptation syndrome or stress response to varied stimuli. Although stress often has a negative connotation, it was originally a gift of nature. It is an evolutionary adaptation mechanism enabling individuals to adapt to any changes in their environment, whether physical, social and/or psychological. But what about the skin? Our bodily envelope also has a system of adaptation to stress in order to resist the diverse extrinsic or intrinsic aggressions which affect it and thus maintain its biological functions with respect to its environment.1 And everything points to the skin having a stress “capital”, exhaustion of which leads to changes in skin parameters and to skin ageing. More recently, it has been shown that psychological stress is also associated with biological markers of accelerated cell and tissue ageing: cellular immune function, oxidative stress and telomerase activity.2 It is widely accepted that psychological stress also impacts skin parameters and that skin disorders or dermatological diseases such as psoriasis or atopic dermatitis are exacerbated in stressed individuals.3,4 The skin, the nervous system and the immune system are in fact intimately linked, both physiologically and anatomically, as part of a “neuro-immunocutaneous” system.4 Researchers are now attempting to measure the impact of this system on the physiology of the skin and understand how psychological problems can affect the skin. Nowadays, we know that there is a constant dialogue between brain and skin, intimately linked by a set of biochemical secretions.5,6 When one communicates stress, overwork, depression, the other responds by lack of radiance and a long face. The cosmetics and beauty industry has already been paying particular attention to the phenomenon of stress for several years, supplying products making varied claims, including protection of the skin against environmental stresses and stimulation of wellbeing through pleasure molecules, and multiplying salons and spas for restoring a state of relaxation and serenity. In this article, we will first tackle an original approach: based on our own investigations conducted in our biometrology laboratory, on the impact of psychological stress on skin parameters. Secondly, we will investigate the benefic effect of Zenicyl (Oligopeptides from germinated millet seeds, Panicum miliaceum, INCI name: Hydrolysed millet), a novel natural active ingredient, on these cutaneous parameters modified by the psychological stress.

Study of influence of psychological stress on skin parameters

Although psychological stress is often perceived as too subjective or unquantifiable, many studies have nevertheless investigated the impact of emotional status on the physiology of the skin. The radiance of the complexion, an indication of the general state of health, depends on the emotional and hormonal state, on tiredness and anxiety, and on environmental factors.7,8 The barrier function and its repair are also altered by psychological stress (sleep deprivation, public or work-related interview).9,10,11 In view of these observations, in our biometrology laboratory we have studied the influence of emotional stress on the skin parameters of human volunteers. A preliminary study assessed the stress level of the panellists on the basis of a questionnaire incorporating questions relating to: