Elevated levels of inflammation and prolonged sun exposure cause skin to lose elasticity and wrinkles with age
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Skincare containing two newly discovered protein fragments may one day repair age-related damage.
The proteins that form the elastic network in our skin become increasingly damaged with age due to increased levels of inflammation in the body and exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun. It loses and wrinkles.
When proteins are broken down, small protein fragments called peptides are released and can initiate some degree of skin repair. Ru.
Previously, some researchers produced cosmetics containing high levels of such peptides, but most of these peptides have not been shown to repair skin damage in humans.
In a study presented March 18 at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting in Louisiana, Sheratt and his colleagues used artificial intelligence to determine what peptides are produced when proteins are broken down in the skin. Predict what will be generated. From this, they identified two peptides that are thought to occur naturally in the skin as a result of injury.
The researchers then applied these peptides to skin areas on the forearms of eight Caucasians between the ages of 71 and 84. The treatment area was covered with a polymer patch known to improve skin penetration of peptides.
After participants wore the patches for 12 days, researchers collected 3-millimeter-wide biopsies from the areas where the peptides had been applied and other areas not exposed to these peptides.
They found that the peptides significantly increased levels of important protein structures called fibrillin-rich microfibrils. It is known to increase skin elasticity in treated skin compared to other untreated areas.
Researchers have not documented whether this increased protein level correlates with a more youthful skin appearance, such as fewer wrinkles.
But fibrillin-rich microfibrils in Nottingham, England, occur naturally in people a few years younger than the participants, according to Mike Bell of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, the health care company that funded the study. increased to similar levels.
The researchers plan to test whether increasing these protein levels reduces the appearance of wrinkles in future trials involving more participants from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
The study supports the idea that skin peptides can repair some damage, but more research is needed to assess how long their effects last, says a clinical researcher in Sacramento, Calif. Raja Sivamani of Integrative Dermatology and Research, the Trial Division, said.
More research is also needed on whether the obvious anti-aging benefits seen in forearm skin translate to facial skin, he says.
When it comes to skin care products like Boots brand No7, you’ll probably need to apply peptides daily to maintain anti-aging benefits, says Bell.
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