Psoriasis is a systemic autoimmune disease with roles in the innate and adaptive immune systems. Histological features include aberrant vascularization with dilated, tortuous, thin-walled capillaries and a mixed inflammatory infiltrate with mononuclear cells and neutrophils. There is increasing evidence that oxidative stress (hypoxia) plays an important role in vascular and inflammatory processes in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. In addition, it appears that systemic inflammation and oxidative stress could be a mechanistic link between psoriasis and concomitant cardiometabolic disorders. To present a unifying overview of the current literature on the general concept on the interrelationship between oxidative stress, vascular alternations and inflammation within the pathogenesis of psoriasis. More particularly, we aimed to gain insight into the pathomechanisms related to cardiovascular comorbidities – an important and distressing component of psoriatic disease. Standardized literature searches in PubMed and Embase were carried out with a focus on oxidative stress, inflammation and vascularization in psoriasis. In this article, the current knowledge on the role of oxidative stress in the inflammatory and vascular aspects of the pathogenesis of psoriasis are stated. Moreover, contemporary awareness of the pathomechanisms related to cardiovascular diseases are pointed out. The review presents arguments to underline the importance of hypoxia and oxidative stress in the inflammatory and vascular response within the pathogenesis of psoriasis and associated various cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common T-helper 2 (Th2) lymphocyte-mediated chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by disturbed epidermal differentiation (e.g., filaggrin (FLG) expression) and diminished skin barrier function. Therapeutics targeting the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), such as coal tar and tapinarof, are effective in AD, yet new receptor ligands with improved potency or bioavailability are in demand to expand the AHR-targeting therapeutic arsenal. We found that carboxamide derivatives from laquinimod, tasquinimod, and roquinimex can activate AHR signaling at low nanomolar concentrations. Tasquinimod derivative (IMA-06504) and its prodrug (IMA-07101) provided full agonist activity and were most effective to induce FLG and other epidermal differentiation proteins, and counteracted IL-4 mediated repression of terminal differentiation. Partial agonist activity by other derivatives was less efficacious. The previously reported beneficial safety profile of these novel small molecules, and the herein reported therapeutic potential of specific carboxamide derivatives, provides a solid rationale for further preclinical assertation.

Skin microvasculature changes are crucial in psoriasis development and correlate with perfusion. The noninvasive Handheld Perfusion Imager (HAPI) examines microvascular skin perfusion in large body areas using laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI).

Introduction: Transdermal analysis patches (TAPs) noninvasively measure soluble proteins in the stratum corneum. Ultimately, such local protein profiles could benefit the search for biomarkers to improve personalized treatment in psoriasis. This study aimed to explore the patient friendliness and protein detection by TAP in pediatric psoriasis in daily clinical practice. Methods: In this observational study, TAPs measuring CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL)-1/2, CC chemokine ligand (CCL)-27, interleukin (IL)-1RA, IL-23, IL-1α, IL-8, IL-4, IL-22, IL-17A, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), human beta-defensin (hBD)-2, hBD-1, and kallikrein-related peptidase (KLK)-5 were applied on lesional, peri-lesional, and non-lesional skin sites of psoriasis patients aged >5 to <18 years. Discomfort during TAP removal as an indicator for patient friendliness was assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS; range 0–10). Results: Thirty-two patients (median age 14.0 years) were included, of which 19 were treated with solely topical agents and 13 with systemic treatment. The median VAS of discomfort during TAP removal was 1.0 (interquartile range 1.0). Significantly higher levels in lesional versus non-lesional skin were found for IL-1RA, VEGF, CXCL-1/2, hBD-2, and IL-8, whereas lower levels were found for IL-1α. Skin surface proteins were measured in both treatment groups, with significant higher lesional levels of KLK-5, IL-1RA, hBD-2, IL-1α, IL-23, and CCL-27 in the systemic treatment group. Conclusion: The TAP platform holds the potential for patient-friendly and noninvasive monitoring of skin-derived proteins in pediatric psoriasis patients in daily clinical practice.

Hand eczema is a common inflammatory skin condition of the hands whose pathogenesis is largely unknown. More insight and knowledge of the disease on a more fundamental level might lead to a better understanding of the biological processes involved, which could provide possible new treatment strategies. We aimed to profile the transcriptome of lesional palmar epidermal skin of patients suffering from vesicular hand eczema using RNA-sequencing. RNA-sequencing was performed to identify differentially expressed genes in lesional vs. non-lesional palmar epidermal skin from a group of patients with vesicular hand eczema compared to healthy controls. Comprehensive real-time quantitative PCR analyses and immunohistochemistry were used for validation of candidate genes and protein profiles for vesicular hand eczema. Overall, a significant and high expression of genes/proteins involved in keratinocyte host defense and inflammation was found in lesional skin. Furthermore, we detected several molecules, both up or downregulated in lesional skin, which are involved in epidermal differentiation. Immune signalling genes were found to be upregulated in lesional skin, albeit with relatively low expression levels. Non-lesional patient skin showed no significant differences compared to healthy control skin. Lesional vesicular hand eczema skin shows a distinct expression profile compared to non-lesional skin and healthy control skin. Notably, the overall results indicate a large overlap between vesicular hand eczema and earlier reported atopic dermatitis lesional transcriptome profiles, which suggests that treatments for atopic dermatitis could also be effective in (vesicular) hand eczema.

Inflammatory disorders like diabetes, systemic lupus erythematodes, inflammatory lung diseases, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, but also rejection of transplanted organs and GvHD, form a major burden of disease. Current classes of immune suppressive drugs to treat these disorders are never curative and side effects are common. Therefore there is a need for new drugs with improved and more targeted modes of action. Potential candidates are the DNA methyl transferase inhibitor 5-azacytidine (Aza) and its derivative 5-aza 2'deoxycitidine (DAC). Aza and DAC have been tested in several pre-clinical in vivo studies. In order to obtain an overview of disorders for which Aza and/or DAC can be a potential treatment, and to find out where information is lacking, we systematically reviewed pre-clinical animal studies assessing Aza or DAC as a potential therapy for distinct inflammatory disorders. Also, study quality and risk of bias was systematically assessed. In the 35 identified studies, we show that both Aza and DAC do not only seem to be able to alleviate a number of inflammatory disorders, but also prevent solid organ rejection and GvHD in in vivo pre-clinical animal models. Aza/DAC are known to upregulate FOXP3, a master transcription factor for Treg, in vitro. Seventeen studies described the effect on Treg, of which 16 studies showed an increase in Treg. Increasing Treg therefore seems to be a common mechanism in preventing inflammatory disorders by Aza/DAC. We also found, however, that many essential methodological details were poorly reported leading to an unclear risk of bias. Therefore, reported effects might be an overestimation of the true effect.

Background Stratum corneum hydration (SCH) and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) provide useful information about skin barrier function. This study aimed to determine the value of GPSkin Pro, a new handheld device determining both SCH and TEWL, to measure skin barrier impairment and to monitor barrier function in rosacea in daily practice. Materials and Methods Two pilots were performed.Pilot 1: in 27 healthy participants, GPSkin SCH and TEWL were compared to Aquaflux(R)and Epsilon(R)values at the forearm before and after skin barrier perturbation via tapestripping. Moreover, GPSkin values were measured at both cheeks without intervention.Pilot 2: in 16 rosacea patients, GPSkin measurements were performed at the forearm, and at both cheeks before and during anti-inflammatory treatment. They were compared to clinical symptoms and to GPSkin values from pilot 1. Results Pilot 1:after merging data from before and after tapestripping, a strong correlation was observed between GPSkin TEWL and Aquaflux(R)(R-s = 0.9256), and GPSkin SCH and Epsilon(R)(R-s = 0.8798).Pilot 2:SCH was significantly lower at the cheeks of rosacea patients compared to controls, with a normalizing trend during successful treatment. TEWL was comparable among patients and controls and did not change during treatment at all locations. Conclusion The GPSkin determines TEWL and SCH accurately in healthy and impaired skin barrier state and can monitor skin barrier function in rosacea during treatment. The GPSkin device is much more practical compared to previous skin barrier tools when used in clinical practice. Its further validation in other inflammatory skin diseases is recommended.

Background: Factors initiating capillary conversion in the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis are not well established and quantification of vascular changes in- and outside visible psoriatic plaque has not been studied extensively. Objectives: To assess the pathological involvement of capillaries in the context of well-established features of psoriasis in different phases: symptomless psoriatic skin distant from a lesion (SDL), adjacent to a lesion (SAL), the margin zone of the lesion (ML) and the center of the psoriatic lesion (CL). Methods: In 10 patients with chronic plaque psoriasis, and 10 healthy matched controls, vascular parameters (vascular tonicity (VD), vascular surface area (VAR), microvascular density (MVD), angiogenesis (pEC)) and hypoxia in the context of well-established features (keratinocyte proliferation, neutrophils and T-cells) were analyzed within the psoriatic lesion and symptomless psoriatic skin, using immunohistochemical markers (Ki67/CD31 double-staining and HIF-1α-, Elastase- and T-Bet-staining). Results: VD and neutrophils were significantly increased in all sites, compared to healthy controls. The VAR, MVD, Ki67+ nuclei, HIF-1α and T-Bet start to augment in the SAL. Within the overt psoriatic plaque angiogenesis increases. Biopsies closer to the center of a plaque, exhibited increased values of the MVD, VAR, VD, Ki67+ nuclei, T-Bet+ Th1 cells and neutrophils. Conclusion: In SDL, vasodilatation and activation of the innate immune system (increased neutrophils) was detected. This could indicate that psoriasis is not restricted to lesional skin, but rather is a systemic disease. Closer to the psoriatic plaque, vascular and epithelial proliferation was observed, along with hypoxic cells and activation of the acquired immunity (augmented T-Bet cells).

Psoriasis and atopic dermatitis are chronic inflammatory skin diseases characterized by keratinocyte (KC) hyperproliferation and epidermal acanthosis (hyperplasia). The milieu of disease-associated cytokines and soluble factors is considered a mitogenic factor; however, pinpointing the exact mitogens in this complex microenvironment is challenging. We employed organotypic human epidermal equivalents, faithfully mimicking native epidermal proliferation and stratification, to evaluate the proliferative effects of a broad panel of (literature-based) potential mitogens. The KC GF molecule, the T-helper 2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-13, and the psoriasis-associated cytokine IL-17A caused acanthosis by hyperplasia through a doubling in the number of proliferating KCs. In contrast, IFN-γ lowered proliferation, whereas IL-6, IL-20, IL-22, and oncostatin M induced acanthosis not by hyperproliferation but by hypertrophy. The T-helper 2‒cytokine‒mediated hyperproliferation was Jak/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 dependent, whereas IL-17A and KC GF induced MAPK/extracellular signal‒regulated kinase kinase/extracellular signal‒regulated kinase‒dependent proliferation. This discovery that key regulators in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis are direct KC mitogens not only adds evidence to their crucial role in the pathophysiological processes but also highlights an additional therapeutic pillar for the mode of action of targeting biologicals (e.g., dupilumab) or small-molecule drugs (e.g., tofacitinib) by the normalization of KC turnover within the epidermal compartment.

Background Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a noninvasive method for skin assessment, allowing entire lesion evaluation up to the papillary dermis. RCM is a potentially attractive alternative to punch biopsy (PB) in basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Objectives To determine the diagnostic accuracy of RCM vs. PB in diagnosing and subtyping BCC, and to study patient satisfaction and preferences. Methods Patients with a clinically suspected primary BCC were randomized between RCM and biopsy. Conventional surgical excision or follow-up were used as reference. Sensitivity and specificity for BCC diagnosis and subtyping were calculated for both methods. BCC subtype was stratified based on clinical relevance: aggressive (infiltrative/micronodular) vs. nonaggressive (superficial/nodular) histopathological subtype and superficial vs. nonsuperficial BCC. Data on patient satisfaction and preferences were collected using a questionnaire and a contingent valuation method. Results Sensitivity for BCC diagnosis was high and similar for both methods (RCM 99 center dot 0% vs. biopsy 99 center dot 0%;P= 1 center dot 0). Specificity for BCC diagnosis was lower for RCM (59 center dot 1% vs. 100 center dot 0%;P< 0 center dot 001). Sensitivity for aggressive BCC subtypes was lower for RCM (33 center dot 3% vs. 77 center dot 3%;P= 0 center dot 003). Sensitivity for nonsuperficial BCC was not significantly different (RCM 88 center dot 9% vs. biopsy 91 center dot 0%;P= 0 center dot 724). Patient satisfaction and preferences were good and highly comparable for both methods. Conclusions Biopsy outperforms RCM in diagnosing and subtyping clinically suspected primary BCC. This outcome does not support routine clinical implementation of RCM, as a replacement for PBs in this patient group.

Background Facial erythema is a common symptom in rosacea. To overcome subjectivity in scoring erythema severity, objective redness quantification is desirable. This study evaluated an image-based erythema quantification tool to monitor facial erythema in rosacea patients during treatment and compared these values to clinical scores. Materials and Methods Twenty-one rosacea patients were treated with topical ivermectin for 16 weeks. Clinical erythema scores and clinical photographs were taken at week 0, 6, 16 and 28. Using ImageJ, RGB images were split into red, green and blue channels to measure the green/red ratio of lesional skin compared with a green sticker. With CIELAB colour space, a* (indicating colour from green to red) of a lesional and non-lesional facial site was measured, calculating increment a*. Interobserver concordance and correlation between quantitative and clinical erythema values were determined. Results Treatment resulted in reduction of clinical erythema scores. No significant changes in red/green ratios were measured. Lesional a* and increment a* significantly decreased from baseline to week 16 and 28 (P < .05). A weak correlation existed between clinical scores and lesional a* (R-s = 0.37), and between clinical scores and increment a* (R-s = 0.30), with a clear trend towards higher a* and increment a* for higher clinical scores. Interobserver correlation was high (R-2 = 0.82). Conclusion ImageJ is a simple, rapid, objective and reproducible tool to monitor erythema in rosacea patients during treatment. The photographs allow retrospective analysis, evaluation of large and small lesions, and discrimination of subtle redness differences. We recommend using lesional a* to monitor erythema of inflammatory dermatoses in clinical practice.

At fire scenes, firefighters are exposed to potentially harmful substances. Besides inhalation of these products, also skin contamination and the risk of dermal absorption is getting more attention. In this perspective, skin barrier impairment due to the occlusive effect of firefighter clothes could enhance the risk of penetration of hazardous substances. The effect of a firefighter jacket and cellophane on the skin was studied in a paired comparison involving 16 volunteers. Biophysical parameters were measured before, immediately after and 30 min after ending the occlusion. Reflectance confocal microscopy was used to study the skin morphology. Immediately after wearing a firefighter jacket, Transepidermal Water Loss values were significantly increased. This is an indication of an occlusive effect of the firefighter jacket. The skin barrier was fully restored after 30 min after occlusion with cellophane or wearing a firefighter jacket.

Background Rosacea assessment and therapy monitoring can be challenging to standardize, as most clinical evaluation systems are prone to interobserver variability and not always validated. Therefore, objective, reliable and preferably noninvasive measurement tools are needed. Objectives To give insight into available noninvasive imaging techniques and biophysical methods in rosacea by performing a systematic review. Methods PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and Web of Science databases were searched until 1 September 2018 in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, to identify studies providing original data about objective noninvasive imaging and/or biophysical skin measurement techniques for diagnosis, assessing severity or therapy monitoring of adult patients with cutaneous facial rosacea. Risk of bias of included articles was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, Quality in Prognosis Studies tool, and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results A total of 78 studies were included, describing 14 imaging and biophysical methods. Widespread information about (sub)surface cutaneous morphology and functionality was obtained. Methodological study quality was relatively low and interstudy outcome variability was large. Several tools show promising value in research settings: for treatment follow-up Demodex mites are countable with reflectance confocal microscopy, spectrometry can quantify erythema, and rosacea severity could be objectified with skin hydration- and transepidermal water loss measurements. Conclusions This systematic review describes the spectrum of noninvasive imaging and biophysical methods in rosacea assessment, giving multifaceted information about structure and properties of rosacea skin, especially useful for research purposes. Larger studies with good methodological quality are needed to create validated protocols for further implementation into research. What's already known about this topic? Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with a variety of clinical manifestations. Most clinical evaluation systems are subjective, not always validated, and subsurface skin processes remain unnoticed. Currently, different types of noninvasive measurement tools are available for rosacea assessment and therapy monitoring, but a comprehensive overview is lacking. What does this study add? Seventy-eight publications were included, describing 14 imaging and biophysical tools, providing a wide range of information about rosacea skin morphology and functionality. Reflectance confocal microscopy and spectrometry are especially promising in therapy monitoring and skin barrier measurements for rosacea severity assessment. Larger studies with better methodological quality are needed to create validated protocols for implementation into research.

酒渣鼻是一种麻烦的成人皮肤问题, 导致发红、肿块和小疮, 主要是在脸部。其中一个病因是一种称作蠕形螨的微小螨虫。酒渣鼻在女性中更常见, 通常可使用抗生素进行改善, 但可能持续很久。 为了找到更好的治疗, 研究人员需要一种可靠的方法来衡量患者病况的严重程度及其对治疗的应答。这很困难, 因为酒渣鼻在不同人群中的外观和表现不同, 并且外观有许多描述方式。 荷兰的这个团队搜索了医学文献, 查看了已使用的研究。他们分析了 78 项已发表的研究, 这些研究以无创方式(不影响皮肤)评估了皮肤的外观和功能。 很难比较结果, 这是因为研究人员以多种方式表达了这些结果。试验的设计和报告存在缺陷而且结果不一致。已使用许多技术和设备:放大皮肤血管和其他功能的显微镜和皮肤镜; 分析皮肤颜色的计算机程序;检查皮肤不规则性的超声波; 皮肤含水量的电记录; 表面油和酸度的测量; 皮肤血流的激光评估; 测量温度的各种器械。这些技术中的一些只能用于研究, 但某些也可在诊所中使用(如皮肤镜检查)。 其中几个测量显示与酒渣鼻严重程度无明显关系。最有前途的技术包括蠕形螨计数的表面显微镜和用于测量皮肤发红、含水量和水分流失的技术。 This summary relates to the study: 酒渣鼻评估的无创客观皮肤测量方法:一项系统回顾。

Background. Recent clinical trials using regulatory T cells (Treg) support the therapeutic potential of Treg-based therapy in transplantation and autoinflammatory diseases. Despite these clinical successes, the effect of Treg on inflamed tissues, as well as their impact on immune effector function in vivo, is poorly understood. Therefore, we here evaluated the effect of human Treg injection on cutaneous inflammatory processes in vivo using a humanized mouse model of human skin inflammation (huPBL-SCID-huSkin). Methods. SCID beige mice were transplanted with human skin followed by intraperitoneal (IP) injection of 20‐40×106 allogeneic human PBMCs. This typically results in human skin inflammation as indicated by epidermal thickening (hyperkeratosis) and changes in dermal inflammatory markers such as the antimicrobial peptide hBD2 and epidermal barrier cytokeratins K10 and K16, as well as T cell infiltration in the dermis. Ex vivo-expanded human Treg were infused intraperitoneally. Human cutaneous inflammation and systemic immune responses were analysed by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Results. We confirmed that human Treg injection inhibits skin inflammation and the influx of effector T cells. As a novel finding, we demonstrate that human Treg injection led to a reduction of IL-17-secreting cells while promoting a relative increase in immunosuppressive FOXP3+ Treg in the human skin, indicating active immune regulation in controlling the local proinflammatory response. Consistent with the local control (skin), systemically (splenocytes), we observed that Treg injection led to lower frequencies of IFNγ and IL-17A-expressing human T cells, while a trend towards enrichment of FOXP3+ Treg was observed. Conclusion. Taken together, we demonstrate that inhibition of skin inflammation by Treg infusion, next to a reduction of infiltrating effector T cells, is mediated by restoring both the local and systemic balance between cytokine-producing effector T cells and immunoregulatory T cells. This work furthers our understanding of Treg-based immunotherapy.

Rosacea is a troublesome adult skin problem causing redness, lumps and pimples, mainly on the face. One of the causes is a tiny mite called demodex. Rosacea is commoner in women and usually improves with antibiotics but can be very persistent. In order to find better treatments, researchers need a reliable way to measure the severity of a person's condition, and its response to therapy. This is difficult because rosacea looks and behaves differently in different people and there are many ways to describe the appearance. This team from Holland searched the medical literature to see what investigations have been used. They examined 78 published studies which assessed skin appearance and function non-invasively (without disrupting the skin). It was difficult to compare the results because researchers expressed them in a variety of ways. There were weaknesses in the design and reporting of experiments as well as inconsistencies in the findings. Many techniques and devices have been used: microscopes and dermatoscopes to magnify skin blood vessels and other features; computer programmes to analyse skin colour; ultrasound to examine skin irregularities; electrical recording of skin water content; measurement of surface oils and acidity; laser assessment of skin blood flow; various devices to measure temperature. Some of these techniques would only be used in research but others, such as dermoscopy, could be used in the clinic. Several of these measurements showed no clear relationship to rosacea severity. The most promising techniques included a surface microscope to count demodex mites and techniques for measuring skin redness, water content and water loss. This summary relates to the study: Noninvasive objective skin measurement methods for rosacea assessment: a systematic review

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) enables noninvasive Demodex mite detection in rosacea. Objective scoring of rosacea severity is currently lacking.To determine the value of RCM for monitoring Demodex, inflammation and vascular parameters in rosacea during treatment.In 20 rosacea patients, clinical and RCM examination were performed before, during, and 12 weeks after a 16-week treatment course with topical ivermectin. Using RCM, number of mites and inflammatory cells, epidermal thickness, and vascular density and diameter were measured. RCM features were correlated with clinical assessment.Treatment resulted in clinical reduction of inflammatory lesions. Mites were detected in 80% of patients at baseline, 30% at week 16, and 63% at week 28. The number of mites reduced significantly during treatment, but no changes in inflammatory cells, epidermal thickness or vascular parameters were observed. Correlation between number of inflammatory lesions and mites was low. None of the RCM variables were significant predictors for clinical success.RCM enables anti-inflammatory effect monitoring of topical ivermectin by determining mite presence. Quantifying exact mite number, and inflammatory and vascular characteristics is challenging due to device limitations. In its current form, RCM seems of limited value for noninvasive follow-up of rosacea in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND/AIMS:Aberrant skin barrier and intercorneocyte adhesion are potential contributors to the pathomechanism of sensitive skin (SS). Here we aimed to develop a novel and easy-to-apply method to analyze corneodesmosomes and to interrogate potential differences between corneocytes of subjects with SS and non-SS (NSS).METHODS:Corneocytes of the volar forearm and upper outer quadrant of the left buttock of SS (n = 10) and NSS (n = 8) subjects were extracted as a function of depth using adhesive tape and stained with anti-desmoglein 1 (DSG1) antibody. The total area of corneocytes and the number and average size of cells per tape was estimated using image processing.RESULTS:The total area of extracted corneocytes and the quantity of DSG1 decreased with depth. The level of decrease, total area of corneocytes, and average area of individual cells differed between anatomical locations. In SS, a larger total area of extracted corneocytes and a larger average cell size per tape was found at all inspected depths.CONCLUSION:The developed novel and easy-to-apply approach allows investigation of corneodesmosome components. We confirm a role of altered corneocytes in the pathomechanism of SS. The disclosed protocol can further be optimized in studies of skin conditions with strongly affected corneodesmosomes.

The epidermal barrier function is disrupted in various inflammatory skin diseases. Accurate methods to measure skin barrier function are needed to assess the effect of therapeutic agents. Therefore, we developed a noninvasive multiparametric approach to measure four different parameters regarding the skin barrier. In the current pilot study, we evaluate this method in 14 healthy volunteers. We assessed erythema, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), water content, and epidermal thickness at both cheeks before and 30 min after application of Lanette and Vaseline-Lanette cream. For this, we used spectrophotometry, the Aquaflux device, the Epsilon device, and reflection confocal microscopy, respectively. Stratum corneum (SC) thickness was significantly increased after application of both creams (p < 0.05), and this increase was larger after Lanette cream compared to after Vaseline-Lanette cream (p = 0.035). Erythema, TEWL, and water content did not significantly change after cream application. Our multiparametric approach is promising and offers a feasible and practical way to quickly obtain multifaceted information about skin barrier function. Further exploration of this approach after prolonged use of cream and in conditions of disrupted skin barrier are recommended areas for future research.