Supporting Skin Scaffold Promotes Younger Skin

Dec-16-12 Researchers have developed a way to reduce skin aging by adding fiber to the areas around skin cells, causing the cells to act like younger cells again.

The process, created by a team from the University of Michigan, involves adding filler to the extracellulal matrix, or ECM, that acts as a scaffold for the cells. As the skin ages, the ECM begins to fragment, which causes the cells to lose their supportive connections and hastens their decline.

In studies, 21 volunteers in their 80s had their skin injected with the filling to boost the ECM, which over three months, prompted the fibroplasts to begin expressing collagen-related genes, resulting in thicker skin with more blood vessels. The discovery could lead to a greater understanding of how to harness the ECM to help encourage healing in the skin of older people.

Portrait Image: Gonzalo Haro

More Info about this Invention:

[GIZMAG.COM]
[UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN]

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