The following recently published article confirms that melanotan is showing promise as a sun protection for people with fair skin who normally burn in direct sunlight. It may be a long time before melanotan (or afamelanotide) is available easily around the world. This paper at least gives us some hope that it might be proven useful in the population at large rather than just sufferers of rare skin diseases.
Melanotan, [Nle4, D-Phe7]-a-MSH, significantly increased pigmentation and decreased UV damage in fair-skinned white volunteers, Ross Barnetson, MD, Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Epidermal melanin can reduce some of the effects of UVR, which is the major cause of skin cancer. To examine whether induced melanin can provide protection from sunburn injury, we recruited 79 subjects into a clinical trial with the potent synthetic melanotropin Melanotan, delivered by subcutaneous injection into the abdomen at 0.16 mg/kg for three 10-day cycles over 3 months. Sixty-five subjects completed the trial and, compared with placebo, the skin melanin density, measured by reflectance spectroscopy, increased significantly in all Melanotan-treated subjects. The highest increases were seen in those volunteers with the lowest baseline skin melanin levels. In subjects with a skin type associated with a low MED at baseline, melanin increased by an average of 41% (from 2.55 to 3.59, P<.0001 vs placebo) over 8 separate skin sites, compared with only 12% (from 4.18 to 4.70, P <.0001 vs placebo) in subjects with a high MED skin type. Epidermal sunburned (apoptotic) cells resulting from exposure to 3 X an individual’s MED exposure of solar-simulated UVR were reduced by more than 50% after Melanotan treatment in the volunteers with low baseline MED. DNA damage, in the form of thymine dimer formation, was also shown to be reduced by 59% (P < .0033) in the basal layer of the epidermis of this group of subjects. This study has shown for the first time the potential ability of a synthetic hormone that augments melanin production to provide photoprotection to people who normally burn in direct sunlight.
Author disclosure: Consultant to Epitan Ltd. 100% sponsored by Epitan Ltd, Melbourne, Australia.
Poster Discussion Session P2621, American Academy of Dermatology, 64th Annual Meeting, March 3-7 2006, San Francisco.
Supplement to Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology, March 2006, Volume 54, Number 3. JAAD Poster Abstracts Online (29Mb)
13 comments ↓
hi i want to buy this epitan where can i purchase it?
Unfortunately as these products are still in development, it is not so easy to get hold of them. They are aren’t approved for use by the FDA so you need to get hold of it through other means. I’d caution that there all the side effects and doses etc. aren’t nailed down so it is a risk you would need to be willing to take.
davidp.
how do i get it through other means???
I would like to find out how and where to buy melanotan and the prices.
Is there a way to become part of the testing?
In general there is no way to join clinical trials externally. Some trials get posted on clinicaltrials.gov and solicit local participants – but mostly the trial organisers go out and seek their own participants. Sometimes we hear that local doctors are used to recruit patients of a particular type, but that seems pretty rare.
davidp.
I have been interested in this treatment for many years since conception and as I am Scottish blue/white living in a tropical climate I would greatly appreciate some assistance as 5 mins in the sun and & I’m burned so although cautious I would like to try this product so please advise asap. thanks
I am very interested in purchasing this product as i have fair hair and skin that burns easy,i also had a small skin cancer taken off last year,to weigh it up the use of a drug (eg alcohol/epitan) against bottles of tanning solution containing numerous chemicals or spray tans that are also breathed in,the epitan is more apealing.Could you please keep me updated asap when it is available to purchase as i don’t want to wait until i have to get it on prescription many thanks.
I would appreciate if you could please let me know when/where I can purchase epitan/melanotan in Australia and also the cost.
Thank you
Hi!
I would love to try this product, im tired of looking transparent. Where/who would be safest to purchase this product?
Tank you x
Hi, can you please tell me where I can purchase epitan/melanotan from in Australia? Thank you
Buying and trying new products in the market is not bad but don’t be fooled by their fake promises. I suggest that before you try a particular product, any kind of products, just make sure that it is safe to use and also to our health. Because as we all known, not all products guaranteed us that their products don’t have side effects.
I have been waiting for this product for some time now.
So help me out on this guys, where can i get this product.
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