I have just found A site with a lot of information about keratin and filaggrin. I am not so good at english. Can anyone tell me if there are mentioned anything about a treatment for keratosis pilaeis at this website?

iHOP - Information Hyperlinked over Proteins [ FLG ]

Here's what I found from googling "keratosis pilaris" and "filaggrin":

Prevalent and rare mutations in the gene encoding filaggrin cause ichthyosis vulgaris and predispose individuals to atopic dermatitis

Excerpt:

Mutations in the filament aggregating protein (filaggrin) gene have recently been identified as the cause of the common genetic skin disorder ichthyosis vulgaris (IV), the most prevalent inherited disorder of keratinization. The main characteristics of IV are fine-scale on the arms and legs, palmar hyperlinearity, and keratosis pilaris.

I think this is great! Both those articles have some good info. So if there are 40 different filaggrin mutations, does that mean that there are several different ones that cause KP?

and that first one that jimmi listed has this bit:
"The presence of an S-100 [?]-like domain suggests that profilaggrin binds calcium and that the calcium binding domain is functionally significant in the formation of keratohyalin and/or the subsequent processing of profilaggrin to filaggrin, both of which may be calcium-dependent events. "

so THAT"S why some KPers can just take calcium and get better?!?

and this:
"The cytokeratin filament-aggregating protein filaggrin is the target of the so-called "antikeratin antibodies," autoantibodies specific for rheumatoid arthritis."

RA runs in my family - does that mean my KP might be caused by "antikeratin antibodies" and that's why when I have a cold or something my KP gets worse? cause my antibodies start destroying the filaggrin in my skin?

I can't even get thru all the info there today.
from that NYTimes article a while back:
"Researchers have identified nearly 40 filaggrin mutations, including variations specific to Asian populations...
With a dry, filaggrin-deficient barrier, almost anything on the patient’s skin — dust mites, pollen, food proteins or bacteria — can easily get through, said Dr. Jon M. Hanifin, a dermatologist at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland who was not involved in the genetic work. The new thinking is that the foreign intrusions activate immune cells to respond and crank out IgE, causing the inflamed skin lesions. That process may also prime the immune system to overreact to specific allergens, leading eventually to asthma, hay fever and food allergies."

Wow, very interesting. I love approaching our KP issue scientifically. I have seen great improvements in my KP lately & I am taking lot's of calcium supplements. 1 which also has vitamin d & 1 which has CHELATED calcium & also zinc & magnesium, I also take Omega 3 with EHA & DHA. I have just googled Chelated calcium wondering if that was the 'key' for us & found a v interesting article. With a few pertinent points such as other minerals which help the absorption of calcium. I am also really interested to hear about the alklanising effects of calcium as I am just starting to look at alklanised water options. There is a theory that the biggest issue facing humans is balancing the PH level. In soils for example the PH level determines which nutrients can be made available to the plant & what beneficial organisms can survive in the soil, so it makes sense to me that humans should be made up of the same principal. Wouldn't it be lovely if the World opened up it's answers clearly to our cosmetic issues so we could move on to the bigger picture issues of this World! I've copied & pasted the article below.
Calcium

Calcium Is Much Needed,

But Only The Right Kind, And Not Too Much!


by Jonathon Miller, wellness educator & author

Called "the king of the minerals," calcium is basic to good health. Most are aware of calcium's role in keeping the bones and teeth strong, and in preventing osteoporosis. More recently, research has linked calcium deficiency to susceptibility to stress, to aging and to degenerative diseases, such as allergies, heart disease, cancer and more.

Most of us know that calcium is the major mineral of the body. Calcium is needed for every organ and cell to function. It is involved in most metabolic activities, and is essential for all the other minerals and nutrients to be utilized.

Calcium is necessary for the electrical charge of the heart beating. All muscles need it to move. DNA replication, a crucial part of body repair and youthfulness, depends on adequate calcium.

Perhaps the most important function of calcium is maintaining the proper pH of the body. The common diet and stress are both acidifying, leaving most people overly acid. Soda pop and coffee are the worst offenders for most people. Over acidity is an unhealthy condition behind many of the illness problems that are rampant.

Calcium is an alkalizer. If there is not enough good ORGANIC calcium in the diet, the body will steal it from the bones and teeth, and even the nerves, to keep the blood from going too acid. Otherwise one would die. If needed to protect the sensitive nerve tissues, calcium will be drawn from the bones and teeth for that too. Osteoporosis results from the body leaching calcium from skeletal tissues for these crucial needs.
Most toxins are acidic. The resulting free radicals use up essential oxygen and leave us vulnerable to acute infections, and chronic degenerative diseases such as heart disease and cancer. By alkalizing, we neutralize the toxic acids, and free up oxygen. We can reduce illness and prevent osteoporosis.
However, TOO MUCH CALCIUM, especially if it is inorganic calcium, may contribute to male prostate problems and cancer, according to recent research. It is thought that the high calcium uses up vitamin D, leaving an insufficient amount for other uses.
Further, extra calcium consumption is not necessarily helpful for osteoporosis. Results from seven different research projects have indicated that there are no significant reductions in bone fractures from increasing intake of calcium. In regard to osteoporosis, studies have shown thatboth consuming a lot of milk and dairyproducts ANDtaking supplemental calcium have resulted in GREATERincidence of osteoporosis! The countries with the mostper capita calcium consumption have the greatest ratesof osteoporosis.
It is likely that these results are based on the use of common inorganic calcium supplements and pasteurized or cooked milk and dairy products. See below for information on ways of getting good, effective calcium.
As reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition back in 1985, the National Dairy Council sponsored a study which showed that the more milk women took in, the greater their bone loss!
Still, it has been established that the most significantcauses of osteoporosis are soda pop and coffee consumption, smoking and physical inactivity. Thesecontribute to over acidity of the body. Further, the phosphorus in colas can impede the absorption and use of calcium.
On the other hand, the most valuable thing for increasing bone density is exercise, even simple walking. Exercise is more important than eitherthe consumption of dairy products or common calcium supplements in terms of improving or maintaining bone density and preventing osteoporosis.

New research suggests that potassium and magnesium as found in vegetables and fruits may be far more crucial to healthy bones than calcium. There is a significant correlation between high levels of fruit and vegetable intake and bone density, unlike the NEGATIVE correlation with consuming dairy products and poor quality calcium supplements.
The traditional emphasis on higher calcium than magnesium is also distorted. Most calcium products provide magnesium in them, as supplemental calcium tends to bind up magnesium in the intestines. There has long been evidence that the magnesium level in supplements should be higher than calcium. More recently researchers have determined that the magnesium should be far higher.

The Right Calcium
Dietary minerals need to be organic, ionically-bonded in a food form. The best sources are organically-grown fresh fruits, vegetables and superfoods.
As a secondary supplemental alternative "chelated" minerals are offered by the marketplace. In a special laboratory process these have been chemically-bonded with an agent that the body recognizes as food. (NOTE: The term "chemical" does not only apply to synthetic chemicals. It refers to any interactions between elements and compounds, whether synthetic, natural, inorganic or organic. Everything in the body is a "chemical" compound with chemical bonds. Natural biological processes in the body are "biochemical" reactions.)
"Chelated" minerals, those bonded with food acids, are known to absorb better in the human body as they are recognized as food substances. The forms of chelated calcium available are: calcium aspartate (an amino acid chelate), calcium lactate (the form found in raw milk and dairy products), calcium citrate (chelated with citric acid as found in citrus fruits), calcium gluconate (chelated with gluconic acid), calcium orotate (chelated with orotic acid), calcium ascorbate (chelated with ascorbic acid), and calcium malate (chelated with malic acid).
Although lab chelated minerals are better absorbed than "rock dust form", such as calcium carbonate and dolomite, or or ground oyster shells, chelated minerals are still not as good as those in plant form.
I DO NOT recommend the many products such as orange juice, soy milk and cereals with added calcium. The calcium in these is usually not well-absorbed, and there is a danger of getting too much calcium, as mentioned earlier.

The Wrong Calcium
I especially DO NOT recommend calcium carbonate, dolomite, di-calcium phosphate, tri-calcium phosphate, oyster shell or bone meal calcium products. "Antiacid" products touted for calcium are of the lowest quality and should be avoided.
You have probably heard about "coral calcium". Now that coral calcium has been marketed for a while, and gained a lot of attention, there is plenty of information based on independent analysis that shows thatthis is not the good stuff it is made out to be.

In the way of foods, as you know, dairy products are promoted (by the dairy producers) as the main foods for calcium. However, dairy foods often actually lower bone density.
Milk is usually homogenized, making it poorly digested. Further, milk and other dairy items are almost always pasteurized and often used in cooking, making them less well-digested and less nutritious, and more acidifying and mucus-forming in the body. So milk and dairy foods are not digested well, and the calcium in them is has been ruined and is less available than in vegetable sources.

Calcium Knowledge
Why are vitamin D & magnesium usually recommended to be taken with calcium? These may or may not be needed with the calcium.
Vitamin D helps absorption of less-absorbable chelated or inorganic forms of calcium in the intestine. Most people are deficient in vitamin D due to too little exposure to the sun. We are indoors a lot, and out of concern for skin cancer, when we go out we often use sunscreen, which blocks the UVB rays needed to act on the skin to form vitamin D.
In the normally alkaline pH of the small intestine, inorganic minerals tend to attract each other and form a sediment which itself is even more poorly absorbed. Thus inorganic calcium actually reduces the absorption of other minerals, especially magnesium. Extra magnesium is often suggested with calcium to prevent other magnesium in the diet from being blocked by the calcium.

Poorly Absorbed Calcium
The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for calcium is 1200 mg for ages 11-24, and 800 mg. for those over 30. This refers to the amount of "elemental calcium" in the diet. Calcium is highly interactive with other elements, and is almost always found in a compound. The body must separate the elemental calcium out of these compounds to make it available to cells.
Research has shown that the body's cells can only utilize about 12.5 mg. of pure ORGANIC calcium in a day for their metabolism. The vast difference between the RDA figures and the small amount actually used suggests how poorly most calcium is absorbed. What happens to all the excess calcium from the poorly absorbed calcium supplements that people are taking to try to get the RDA?
Most of it is not absorbed and remains in the intestine, perhaps contributing to the formation of cement-like deposits there. The excess of what does get absorbed may form deposits in the body, and could block other crucially-needed minerals from getting into cells.

And what about the cheap forms of calcium being added to orange juice, soy milk and other food products? It is definitely possible to take too much of wrong types of calcium. The calcium in most supplements is common inexpensive rock dust. Rock forms of inorganic calcium, including calcium carbonate (chalk), oyster shell, dolomite, di-calcium phosphate, and "coral calcium", are extremely poorly absorbed. An excess of such forms of calcium would bind up magnesium in the intestine, possibly throw off blood calcium levels, potentially form deposits in joints and other tissues, and could disturb the nerves, which also need calcium.


The reason that conventional mineral supplements do not contain the RDA of calcium along with the RDA's of all the other minerals is that either the tablets or capsules would be too large to swallow, or you would have to take so many of them at once that it would be overwhelming. A further problem is that calcium supplements of naturally occurring compounds such as dolomite, bone meal, oyster shell or coral calcium may contain heavy metals such as lead or mercury. At the moment, calcium products are not tested by any regulatory agency for heavy metal content. Therefore, it's best to avoid these for this reason as well.

Calcium in Foods
Foods organically-grown on good soil have a far better mineral profile than those grown on deficient chemically-fertilized farms. Carrots, broccoli and sesame seeds, organically-grown well, are some of the richest plant foods in calcium, yet they do not have anything near the calcium levels that people are trying to take in through supplements.
Also wheat, barley and kamut grass juices, fresh or in cold-dried powder form, are the most alkalizing of nutritional supplements, providing an array of organic minerals, including calcium AND magnesium. Not only wheat grass; wheat germ is also a good food source of organic minerals.

Properly-raised spirulina, a highly nutritious edible algae, is one of the best superfoods as well. 16 grams of Spirulina contains as much calcium as 16 grams of milk. It has 300% more calcium than found in chicken, and is a superior source of protein to meat, dairy products, soy products, or any other food. It is also rich in magnesium.

The calcium and other bone-building minerals in organic foods and superfoods are far superior to the inorganic and poorly absorbed calcium from coral, oyster shell, bone meal, dolomite (from limestone), di-calcium phosphate, tri-calcium phosphate or pure calcium carbonate (chalk), sold for many years in cheaply-made products to the calcium-seeking public.
Further, minerals are synergistic. For example, the trace mineral boron is needed for helping to retain calcium. And silica can be transmuted and form calcium as needed if the body is functioning well.
A variety of minerals are present together in vegetables and superfoods. However, the minerals are only a portion of what is present there, along with vitamins, enzymes, pigments and phytonutrients. However, the minerals in the normal intake of vegetables and superfoods would not be all you would need.
What about milk and dairy products, the foods that have been touted for years as a source of calcium. The calcium level in cow's milk is for supporting the structure of an animal that could weigh almost a ton! This is not an appropriate level of calcium for a human. And the calcium in dairy products, altered by pasteurization, does not absorb well in humans.

My naturopath suggested taking Silica for a sweating problem. It hasn't fixed the problem but it has vastly improved my skin. I first noticed that my knees were smooth, then I checked my elbows and ankles and they were smooth, too. My skin is much smoother, but no one would call it silky smooth - yet - but it is much improved in only 4 weeks.

I'm also noticing my face is losing its wrinkles...I'm 48. Until now the only thing that helped the KP was the sun. Now, without the sun this year, my skin is softer and my wrinkles are fading.

I invite anyone to google 'silica benefits' and see what else it's good for - ie: calcium doesn't work properly without silica.

I've been telling all my non-KP friends that are my age about Silica for their wrinkles and overall health.

Cloe,

Thank you for sharing info on silica. For anyone else wanting to read more:
Vitamins & Supplements Beautiful Hair Comes From Within With Silica Alternative Health Articles

A quote from this web page:
" It is not only your hair that will benefit, but also your skin, as already suggested, will maintain a youthful hydrated look and the wrinkles will take longer to appear."

kebod

Did I mention the bumps are less visible?

I have had a particularly bad case, since childhood, covering my arms, legs and buttocks...My arms are the last thing that are softening.

My facial wrinkles are definitely softening and on my eyelids (which have gone back up where they belong) the wrinkles are almost gone. The ones around my eyes may take longer - I smile too darn much!

In good news, the skin specialist I saw a few years ago told me that KP disappears around 35...hmmmm!