• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skin Care
  • Ask the Expert

DermaTalk

Lets Talk about your Skin

  • Home
  • Beauty and Make Up
  • Disease and Condition
    • acne
    • Nail Disorder
    • Skin cancer
    • Viral Infection
    • Psoriasis
  • HEALTHY LIVING
  • Anti Aging
  • Cosmetic Surgery
  • Product Reviews
  • Genital Dermatology
You are here: Home / Anti Aging / Photodynamic therapy may improved appearance of the aging skin

Photodynamic therapy may improved appearance of the aging skin

October 28, 2008 by Dr.Deepak 3 Comments

Photodynamic therapy—which involves a light-activated medication and exposure to a light source—appears to produce changes at the molecular level in aging skin thus improving appearance of the aging skin, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. These changes are consistent with increased collagen production and improved appearance of the skin.

“The deleterious effects of exposure of the skin to UV irradiation are well established,” the authors write as background information in the article. “Alternatively, several visible and infrared lasers and light sources have been reported to produce various positive changes in the clinical and histologic [microscopic] appearance of the skin. In recent years, the concept of employing a photosensitizing compound to enhance the effects of some light-based therapies has been espoused.”

For aesthetic treatments, this type of photodynamic therapy typically involves application of a topical medication, such as 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), that is activated by exposure to light. Jeffrey S. Orringer, M.D., and colleagues at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, studied this treatment in 25 adults age 54 to 83 with sun-damaged skin on their forearms. Before treatment, the degree of skin damage was rated and a biopsy (tissue sample) was taken from the forearm. A solution containing 5-ALA was applied to the treatment site and left on for three hours; the skin was then washed with cleanser and treated with a pulsed-dye laser. Participants returned for re-examination and to provide additional biopsy samples four to five times during the six months following treatment.

After photodynamic therapy, tissue samples demonstrated a five-fold increase in levels of Ki67, a protein thought to play a fundamental role in the growth and development of new skin cells. The epidermis (skin’s outer layer) increased in thickness 1.4-fold. Levels of enzymes and other compounds associated with the production of collagen, the main structural protein in the skin, also were increased.

“Photodynamic therapy with the specific treatment regimen employed produces statistically significant quantitative cutaneous molecular changes (e.g., production of types I and III collagen) that are associated with improved appearance of the skin,” the authors conclude. When compared with previous data regarding the effectiveness of pulsed-dye laser therapy alone, these results suggest that using a photosensitive compound such as 5-ALA enhances changes in the skin.

“Although our molecular measurements cannot yet precisely predict clinical outcomes for a single given patient, taken together they are very much in keeping with the bulk of the clinical literature and thus lend substantial support to the conclusions reached by other researchers who have published purely clinically oriented work in this field,” the authors conclude. “We believe that the quantitative amount of dermal repair and regeneration induced by a specific therapeutic intervention very likely underlies the degree of clinical rejuvenation produced. Thus, it is our hope that, with further development, our working molecular model may one day be used to predict the clinical value of new technologies in aesthetic dermatology.”

Source: JAMA and Archives Journals

Filed Under: Anti Aging Tagged With: aging, Anti Aging, Photodynamic therapy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. neha4898 says

    March 25, 2009 at 8:22 pm

    Hey, i’ve been using this brand for anti aging products and they really seem to work. They are also very gentle for some one with sensitive skin like my self…here’s a little summary abt the brand…

  2. Karla says

    May 24, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    Solid article. It’s always nice to hear about new therapies and treatments, and you just summed up one I wasn’t that familiar with. Good post.

Trackbacks

  1. dermfeed.com says:
    June 6, 2011 at 6:05 pm

    Photodynamic therapy may improved appearance of the aging skin…

    Photodynamic therapy may improved appearance of the aging skin…

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

skin care advice

Latest Posts

  • Home Remedies for Sweaty Armpits
  • Rash in Corner of Mouth: Angular Cheilitis and its Treatment
  • Heat rash in Babies: Best ways to Treat and Prevent
  • Minocycline Topical Foam 1.5% Approved by FDA for Rosacea
  • What is Maskne (Mask Acne): Its Treatment and Prevention

Return to top of page

About Us Contact us Privacy Policy Copyright and Terms of Use Copyright © 2021 · Skin Care Blogs by DermaTalk