Grandma was right: Rubbing behind the ears and between the toes can help keep the skin in those areas healthy, according to a new study from a team at George Washington University.
The microbiome, or collection of microbes that live on and within the human body, is known to play a role in human health, and skin is no different. A new study led by a team at George Washington University shows that the composition of the skin microbiome varies depending on dry, moist and oily skin areas.
The new study, titled “Spatial Diversity of Skin Bacteria,” was published September 19 in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.
Researchers at the GW Institute for Computational Biology wanted to take a closer look at the skin microbiomes of healthy people. Marcos Pérez-Losada, a professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, and his team wanted to test the so-called “grandmother hypothesis.”
Keith Crandall, director of the Institute for Computational Biology and professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics at GW, said his grandmother always told the children in her family to "rub behind their ears, between their toes and their belly button." Crandall postulated that these hot spots are typically washed less frequently than the skin on the arms or legs and therefore may harbor different types of bacteria.
But will the grandmother's hypothesis hold up if tested? Pérez-Losada and Crandall designed an innovative genomics course and then assembled a team of students to implement it.
A total of 129 graduate and undergraduate students studied collected their own data by taking samples from specific moist and oily areas behind the ears, between the toes and at the navel. They also collected samples from dry control areas such as the calves and forearms.
Students then learn how to extract and sequence DNA from skin samples to compare microbes living in hotspots with microbes in control areas.
The researchers found that the forearms and calves, which are often cleaned more thoroughly during bathing, had greater diversity and therefore a potentially healthier microbial pool compared to samples taken at the study site.
When certain problematic microbes invade the microbiome, they can disrupt the health balance, says Crandall. When the microbiome is biased toward harmful microbes, it can lead to skin conditions like eczema or acne, he says.
The students tested Grandma's hypothesis and the results showed that brushing habits can change the microbes that live on your skin and therefore your health, Crandall said.
This study, which incorporates previous research by the same team, is one of the first studies to examine the diversity of skin microbiome locations in healthy adult subjects and could be a reference for future research. Crandall said studies on how microbial buildups on the skin cause health or disease are still in their infancy.
Further information: Marcos Pérez-Losada et al, Spatial Diversity of Skin Bacteriome, Frontiers in Microbiology (2023). DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1257276
Quote : "Grandma's Hypothesis": The skin behind the ears and between the toes can harbor unhealthy accumulations of microbes (September 28, 2023), retrieved September 29, 2023 from https://phys.org/news/ 2023-09 - grandmother -finger- ear-skin-hypothesis.html
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