In the mystery film The Others the American-Australian actress Nicole Kidman plays a mother who lives together with her two children and her grotesque servants in an English mansion during the Second World War. The sinister atmosphere conjured up so wonderfully by director Alejandro Amenábar is intensified by the two children suffering from a rare light allergy: To protect them from sunlight, all the window blinds have to be closed during the day, and candles lit in the house.
One day, inexplicable changes occurring in the secluded house and bring turmoil to the family. The children have visions of a small boy appearing seemingly from nowhere and disappearing in a similarly ghostly manner. All the curtains in the house disappear without trace and the piano and doors take on a life of their own.
This excellent film has an interesting twist, just like that in The Sixth Sense, and of course I do not want to disclose any essential details. The stunning Nicole Kidman is outstanding as usual, but not because of her attempts to look more like Marilyn Monroe than a rugged beauty from the Australian outback. Not because of the filler in her lips and the Botox in her forehead. The film is about the children and their extremely light skin. They suffer from a serious illness known as light allergy, for which, however, a promising therapeutic approach has been around for some time.
In cases of light allergy, the skin reacts sensitively to UV exposure, as insufficient levels of the brown pigment melanin are produced. This has a tanning effect on the skin and protects it from UV light. Genetic factors determine whether a person has a light skin and how much melanin our body can produce by itself. These factors cannot be changed. There is nevertheless a way to stimulate melanin production and to give the skin a visible tan.
Melanotropin is the hormone which stimulates skin pigment cells to produce melanin. Some time ago, melanotropin received approval for therapeutic treatment of light allergies, but it is also suitable for skin tanning and protecting the skin from the sun. During therapy with melanotropin/melanotropin analogues (melanotan, bremelanotide), the skin tans more quickly due to the increased production of melanin by skin pigment cells and retains the tan for a longer period. This might mean that sun tan lotions will become a thing of the past.
The results of studies with melanotropin analogues are promising, from which we can conclude that their regular application could not only slow down skin aging, but also reduce the risk of skin cancer to a certain degree. At present, the substance Melanotan I, a melanotropin analogue, is approved in Switzerland and in Italy for the treatment of light allergies and pigmentation disorders, whereby it remains to be seen if it can establish itself as a rival product in the cosmetics industry.
I will give you regular updates on the topic of melanotropin analogues. However, the skin can also be protected and rejuvenated with more generally available hormones: From the age of 40 onwards Hormonal Regeneration® (Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy, BHRT) is a sensible treatment option for healthy and vital looking skin. A deficiency of testosterone and DHEA can be seen by a sallow skin, a deficiency of the thyroid hormone by dry, swollen skin and of the growth hormone from sagging, devitalized skin. With Hormonal Regeneration®, hormone levels are analyzed in the initial phase and then supplemented with bioidentical hormones. According to the patient’s individual wishes, a Hormonal Regeneration® cure with bioidentical hormones has a duration between 3 and 6 cycles (1 cycle = 28 days) and can be repeated some time afterwards.
Although the mother played by Nicole Kidman in The Others seemed to be the right age for Hormonal Regeneration®, the bioidentical hormones would not have helped her – do you know (or can you guess) why?
DDr. Heinrich, MD