Congratulations to UTMB DIG's Faculty Advisor, Dr. Richard Wagner, for being quoted in The New York Times on Monday, June 21st, which was also mentioned in yesterday's UTMB News Highlights.
"Summer means more time and tissue exposed to the single biggest cause of skin damage and cancer: ultraviolet radiation. And despite sunscreen and a dermatologists’ campaign going back to 1983, millions of Americans continue to abuse the rays that in small doses help maintain health but in larger doses can destroy it. For some, sun worship is a year-round activity. Dr. Richard F. Wagner Jr., a UTMB dermatologist, reported five years ago that as many as half of local beachgoers met the psychiatric definition of a substance abuse disorder. This year, 3.5 million new cases of superficial but often disfiguring skin cancers, and an estimated 68,720 melanomas, will be diagnosed among Americans. “As we age, the number of mutations increase and our immunity wanes,” Dr. Wagner explained — a double whammy that greatly increases the likelihood of skin cancer. "
To read The New York Times article, "When Tanning Turns Into an Addiction," click on the following link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/health/22brod.html
The University of Texas Medical Branch Dermatology Interest Group (UTMB DIG) is a resource for medical students interested in Dermatology as well as for dermatologists and residents.
Editors
Current Editors: Fareen Momin and Jane Onyemachi
(Please email editors if there is blog-worthy news that you would like to see shared)
Past Editors: Andrea Francis, Renat Ahatov, Michael Phan, Elise Weisert, Michael Ryan, Keith Wagner, Tim Allen, Kristyna Gleghorn, Dung Mac, Alex Acosta, William Tausend, Sheila Jalalat, Rebecca Philips, Chelsea Altinger, Lindsey Hunter, Alison Wiesenthal, Leslie Scroggins, Mara Dacso, Ashley Group, Fadi Constantine, Emily Fridlington, Joslyn Witherspoon, Tasneem Poonawalla.