Background/aims: The confocal laser scanning microscope Vivascope (Lucid, Henrietta) allows skin to be studied in real‐time with a resolution of 0.5 µm horizontal and 1.3 µm vertical in vivo. In this study, we present the results of a comparison between the skin of an older and a younger group of volunteers by in vivo histometric measurements.
Methods: To investigate changes caused by age, 13 young (18–25 years) and 13 older (> 65 years) volunteers were examined. The following parameters were measured using the Vivascope at the volar forearm: minimal thickness of the epidermis (Emin), size of cells in the granular layer (Agran), thickness of the horny layer (DSC), thickness of the basal layer (DSB) and number of dermal papillae per area (PapI). The image analysis program image tool was used to measure the size of the cells and the thickness of the basal layer.
Results: The older group of volunteers showed a significant increase in Emin, no significant change in DSC, a significant decrease in dermal papillae and in the thickness of the basal layer, and an increase in Agran compared to the younger group.
Conclusions: Histometric measurements by in vivo confocal laser scanning microscopy are a sensitive and non‐invasive tool for characterizing and quantifying histological changes of the epidermis and papillary dermis due to ageing.
The processes of aging and photoaging are associated with an increase in cellular oxidation. This may be in part due to a decline in the levels of the endogenous cellular antioxidant coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone, CoQ10). Therefore, we have investigated whether topical application of CoQ10 has the beneficial effect of preventing photoaging. We were able to demonstrate that CoQ10 penetrated into the viable layers of the epidermis and reduce the level of oxidation measured by weak photon emission. Furthermore, a reduction in wrinkle depth following CoQ10 application was also shown. CoQ10 was determined to be effective against UVA mediated oxidative stress in human keratinocytes in terms of thiol depletion, activation of specific phosphotyrosine kinases and prevention of oxidative DNA damage. CoQ10 was also able to significantly suppress the expression of collagenase in human dermal fibroblasts following UVA irradiation. These results indicate that CoQ10 has the efficacy to prevent many of the detrimental effects of photoaging.
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