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Issue Date: June 1, 2003
Skin science
Breakthrough treatments can erase brown age spots, prevent disease -- even make you smell better.
By Peggy J. Noonan
We take it for granted, but skin actually is amazing stuff. The average person carries around about 18 square feet of skin, which weighs about 5 pounds. Like a flexible, waterproof suit of armor, skin protects the body from infection and injury, keeps the inner tissues moist and prevents fluids from leaking. It also acts as a sensory detection system -- with millions of nerve endings that respond to touch, temperature, pressure and pain -- and a thermostatic control that cools an overheated body through sweating (which also flushes out waste products) and conserves warmth by prickling into goose bumps.
Our skin's condition peaks at about age 20; it thins and loses elasticity as we age. Sunlight, skin's No. 1 enemy, speeds up the aging process. In 2001, Americans spent $2.8 billion on cosmetics that claimed to slow aging and undo sun damage.
Recently, some promising research has surfaced in the field of skin care. Arthur K. Balin, medical director of the Sally Balin Medical Center for Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery in Media, Pa., and co-author of "The Life of the Skin", briefed USA WEEKEND on the latest breakthroughs:
Photo-facials. Pulsed light treatments can lighten skin, erase age spots and freckles, clear up the redness commonly associated with rosacea, reduce fine lines and remove precancerous spots.
Stress and skin. One study showed that women under stress are more vulnerable to skin injury and infection, because stress weakens their skin's outer barrier. That could "make a difference in a number of diseases of the skin, such as eczema and atopic dermatitis," Balin says.
Botox and B.O. Recent research shows that Botox injections in the armpits can reduce body odor.
Tetracycline bonus. Doctors have long used tetracycline to treat acne, but recently they found that this class of drugs also works as an angiogenesis factor -- an agent that can affect the growth of blood vessels. New angiogenesis stimulators could speed the healing of ulcers, while angiogenesis inhibitors could halt blood supply to tumors.
New niacins. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, promising products are being developed from niacin (vitamin B3). Applying a derivative called nicotinamide helps skin retain moisture, leaving it softer, smoother and with fewer fine lines. Another, called niacinamide, helps lighten skin when applied with a moisturizer; it also curbs inflammation and could be a treatment for acne, rosacea and conditions that cause blistering.
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Getting under your skin
Skin consists of two main layers, the epidermis on the outside and the dermis underneath.
The epidermis, about as thick as a piece of paper, includes the stratum corneum on the surface; the granular layer that makes fats and proteins; the squamous cell layer that makes keratin for the top layer and works as a water transporter; and the basal (lowest) layer, where the skin renews itself by making new cells. The basal layer also is home to the pigment-producing cells that color the skin.
The dermis, about half an inch thick, is made up of collagen, elastin fibers and a gel called ground substance. This is the part that holds the blood vessels, nerves, hair follicles, and oil and sweat glands. It takes about 28 days for new skin cells to be made in the dermis and work their way up to the outer layer of the epidermis.
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