Skin Aging Protocol

Vitamin C does more than inhibit skin-damaging free radical activity. It is also required for collagen synthesis, which declines markedly in aging skin. As humans age, they suffer diminished microcapillary circulation within the skin, thereby depriving skin cells of the supply of vitamin C it needs for youthful collagen synthesis. The topical application of vitamin C in a skin-penetrating medium can enhance the availability of vitamin C for collagen production. Vitamin C regenerates vitamin E in the skin. An antioxidant like vitamin E can only suppress a limited number of free radicals before it runs out of electrons to donate. Vitamin C regenerates vitamin E and enables vitamin E to provide sustained antioxidant protection in the skin's elastin fibers. Vitamin C also plays a vital role in skin repair. When skin is injured, its vitamin C content is used up rapidly in the scavenging of free radicals, and in synthesizing collagen to speed healing.

A randomized double-blind controlled study was conducted on human volunteers to determine the efficacy of topical vitamin C application in treating mild to moderate photodamage of facial skin. Methods of evaluating efficacy included an objective computer-assisted image analysis of skin surface topography, subjective clinical and photographic appearance and patient self-appraisal questionnaires. Topical vitamin C was applied to one side of each patient's face and a control vehicle on the other side for 3 months.

The results using the optical image analysis demonstrated that compared to the placebo-vehicle, the vitamin C-treated side of the face showed a statistically significant 71% combined score improvement. Clinical assessment parameters demonstrated significant improvement with vitamin C treatment compared to the placebo vehicle for fine wrinkling, tactile roughness, coarse rhytids, skin tone, sallowness, and overall features. Patient questionnaire results demonstrated statistically significant improvement overall, with the vitamin C treatment 84.2% greater than control. Photographic assessment demonstrated significant improvement with vitamin C treatment (57.9% greater than the improvement in the control group). This 3-month study using topical vitamin C provided objective and subjective assessment of the improvement in photodamaged facial skin (Traikovich et al. 1999).

Alpha-Lipoic Acid. Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant that has been found to be extremely important in the management of Type II diabetes. It appears to be able to increase the beneficial effects of other antioxidants and is both water and fat-soluble. Alpha-lipoic acid is also found in the mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell itself. Thus, it can augment the metabolic processes of the cells, and in addition, it turns off an inflammatory messenger known as nuclear factor kappa beta (NFKB), which turns on inflammation.

Note: NFKB is a transcription factor. Transcription factors are messengers found inside the cell, which carry information from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. There they may activate or inhibit the production of certain proteins or enzymes, which then carry out a particular cell function. Such a function might be increased inflammatory factors.
Another factor known as AP-1 may either damage or heal skin depending upon how it is activated. If it is activated by sunlight, it produces free radicals; but if it is activated by alpha lipoic acid, then it turns on enzymes that digest only the damaged collagen. As we age, proteins can become glycated. Glycation is a process where a glucose molecule is attached to the protein and is commonly measured in the body by estimating the blood levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (Hba1c). Alpha-lipoic acid can decrease glycation, decrease pore size, and activate AP-1. Often the result of this is a decrease in facial lines when applied topically.

A concern amongst dermatologists is whether agents that are proven effective in fighting skin aging can be consistently delivered to the specific layers of the skin where they are known to induce their biological effect. The advent of liposome delivery technology has enabled scientists to increase the efficacy of topical anti-aging agents by delivering them into the inner layers of the skin.

A patented liposome delivery system trademarked QuSomes Æ (meaning "quick liposomes")was discovered in late 2000. This technology represents a substantial enhancement in conventional liposome vehicles. QuSomes not only delivers active skin-protecting ingredients faster into the lower layers of the skin, but these liposomes are also designed to protect the active ingredient from deterioration. With the unique QuSome delivery system, the solubility of the active anti-aging agents is preserved, thereby enabling them to reside longer in the areas of the skin where they exert their greatest biological effects. The availability of QuSomes enables nutrients like alpha lipoic acid to be reliably delivered to the inner layers of the skin. This makes alpha lipoic acid an exciting new weapon in the battle against the ravages of time.

Alpha- and Beta-Hydroxy Acids (Glycolic Acid and Salicylic Acid). Alpha-hydroxy acids have been around for about 20 years and make a marked improvement in skin quality by their exfoliative action. Exfoliation removes dead skin cells from the surface. In the late 1980s, the media reported on the age-reversal properties of glycolic acid, an alpha- hydroxy fruit acid that functioned to slough dead skin cells off the surface so that more youthful appearing fresh cells would be visible. The effect of the topical application of these fruit acids was the disappearance of fine lines and wrinkles and a fresher looking tone to the skin.

Importantly, several years before this announcement, a researcher named Carmen Fusco had added an alpha-hydroxy fruit acid (lactic acid) to a skin cream formula called Rejuvenex. This formula became the first anti aging cream in history to incorporate an alpha-hydroxy fruit acid as an active ingredient.

A physician, Dr. Benjamin S. Frank, first developed Rejuvenex in the 1970s. He believed that nutritition played a major role in preventing disease. Dr. Frank proposed that aging was partially a result of decreased energy production in the cell's mitochondria. He felt that in the presence of reduced mitochondrial function, cells become defective and lack the energy needed to effectively repair DNA. Published scientific studies have since validated Dr. Frank's theory about cell energy depletion and aging.

One of Dr. Frank's most famous hypotheses was that the topical application of RNA improved cell energy metabolism and therefore the health and appearance of the skin.

Much has been discovered about skin aging since Dr. Frank began experimenting with RNA-based face creams at his New York City medical office. His premature death did not deter the further development of his skin-saving cream. His assistant, Carmen Fusco, continued the research, producing a cream with the nutrients and antioxidants noted for their anti-aging properties.

Hydroxys are not just an exfoliant, but also a stimulator of collagen production and cell growth (Kim et al. 1998). In animals they have been found to reduce tumor incidence (Hong et al. 2001). Psoriasis, a common debilitating skin condition with increased epidermal production, also responds to hydroxy acids and even more so with topical steroid added, according to Kostarelos et al. (2000). The authors concluded from this double-blind study:

The present clinical study demonstrates for the first time that the effective and well tolerated therapeutic efficacy of glycolic acid scalp lotions is enhanced when used in conjunction with a 0.1% betamethasone scalp application against scalp psoriasis. This potential offers the practising dermatologist novel treatment modes against severe skin conditions by combining topical corticosteroid with exfoliative agent therapy.
DMAE (Dimethylaminoethanol). One of the major problems of advanced aging is the sagging of tissues caused by the destruction of the skin's underlying support structure (primarily collagen and elastin). While much of this structural deterioration may be preventable by lifestyle changes and proper use of oral and topical agents, it is difficult to reverse this unsightly collapse of facial tissues. In a study published in Skin Research Technologies, DMAE was shown to produce a firming effect on the skin (Uhoda 2002). This mechanism may be due to the fact that DMAE functions as a cell membrane stabilizer. Based on clinical reports, DMAE may be the first topical agent that can help firm sagging skin.

Other Antioxidants and Topical Treatments. Tixier et al. (1984) found that the antioxidant pycnogenol (Pine Bark extract) can bind to elastin (one of the skin proteins) and prevent its degradation by elastase in a rabbit model. Another study indicates that oral supplementation of pycnogenol (PBE) reduces erythema in the skin (Saliou et al. 2001).

Vitamin A analogs such as tretinoin and tazarotene creams are also available for topical treatment of photo-damaged skin (Nyirady et al. 2001).

Vitamin A and its retinoid analogs stimulate skin cell renewal by increasing the rate of mitotic cell division (Ridge et al. 1988; Chapellier et al. 2002; Koussoulakos et al. 1990). One mechanism by which vitamin A induces this phenomenon is to act as a signaling agent to stimulate the binding of epidermal growth factor to skin cells (Chapellier et al. 2002).

A characteristic of sun-damaged skin is the degradation of the supporting structure of skin caused by reduced collagen synthesis. A study involving 72 individuals of varying age groups was done to see if the topical application of natural vitamin A could improve function in both natural aged, sun-protected, and photo-aged skin. In one of the study groups consisting of individuals 80+ years of age, topical application of vitamin A for 7 days increased fibroblast growth and collagen synthesis, while reducing levels of a collagen degrading skin enzyme (metalloproteinase).

The overall findings indicated that naturally aged, sun-protected and photo-aged skin share important molecular features including connective tissue damage, elevated metalloproteinase levels, and reduced collagen production. Topical vitamin A treatment reduced matrix metalloproteinase expression and stimulated collagen synthesis in naturally aged and sun-protected skin, as it does in photo-aged skin (Varani et al. 2000). Vitamin A drugs (Retin-A) have shown more profound acute effects in reversing both photo damaged and naturally aged skin, but some people find it irritating to the skin (Varani et al. 1998).

Studies show that the upper layer of the skin (epidermis) can be easily loaded with natural vitamin A by topical application. Besides being a precursor for retinoic acid, vitamin A also has a free-radical scavenging potential. Vitamin A absorbs ultraviolet light to help protect the most delicate areas of the skin against damaging free-radical attack (Sorg et al. 2001). Natural vitamin A thus functions via several pathways to guard against normal and sun-induced skin aging.

Other studies indicated that natural vitamin A (retinyl palmitate), had some of the cell renewal properties that were once attributed solely to retinoic acid drugs.

Going Beyond Antioxidants
While free radicals have been implicated in much of the damage that occurs to aging skin, there are other injurious factors that result in unsightly structural and functional deterioration.

For instance, aging skin cells suffer from metabolic imbalances that preclude them from performing youthful repair functions. The groundbreaking work of Benjamin S. Frank, M.D,. showed that RNA improved cellular energy and the ability of the skin's cells to use oxygen. This improved metabolism enhances the movement of young cells to the surface of the skin where they replace old cells.

Another benefit from topically applied RNA is to repair early skin cell damage. Clinical trials by Dr. S.J. Jellinek in the 1970s demonstrated how creams containing RNA/DNA caused a visible lifting and tightening of the skin, with the wrinkles appearing to be less visible in a three-week period. Although this was a small-scale study, it was nonetheless a double blind test. Very few commercial products provide the potency of RNA and DNA used in these studies.

Keeping the Skin Moist
Replacing moisture lost to aging is a prime reason why women use face creams. Most commercial face creams are oil-based and work by blocking the release of water from the skin. As people grow older, however, they cannot rely on oil-based preparations to block the release of moisture. That is because aged skin loses the ability to attract moisture in the first place and fundamentally becomes dehydrated. At this point, aged skin needs to be replenished with its natural moisturizer complex in order to attract and retain water.

The most advanced moisturizer is Ceraphyl GA-D, which functions by reducing the excessive drying in the upper layers of the skin. Drs. Stig Friberg and David W. Osborne showed that Ceraphyl GA-D inhibits transepidermal water loss by preventing the lipids (fats) from crystallizing. This mechanism is central to preventing dry, thin, leathery, dull, wrinkled skin. Ceraphyl GA-D also seems to increase the effectiveness of sunscreens and enhance the receptiveness of skin cells to antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E.

Hyaluronic acid helps the skin retain its youthful moisture via a different mechanism than Ceraphyl GA-D. Hyaluronic acid maintains the integrity of the connective tissue because it is a source of manganese and glucosomine. Injectable hyaluronic acid may one day replace injectable collagen, but this important skin-preserving nutrient is available without a prescription today in over-the-counter skin creams.

The ability of skin to hold moisture is directly related to its sodium pyrrilidone carboxylic acid (NaPCA) content. NaPCA is one of the skin's most important natural moisturizers. Old skin, however, contains only about half the NaPCA as young skin. NaPCA facilitates the moistening by pulling water into the skin from the air. Optimal protection against age-accelerating dehydration is best obtained by the topical application of NaPCA, hyaluronic acid, lactic acid, urea, Ceraphyl GA-D and squalene every day.

Botox (Botulinum Toxin)
Botox is quite literally a very dilute solution of the botulinum toxin Type A produced by the botulism species of bacteria. For about 10 years now, very dilute preparations of this toxin have been injected into humans to improve facial appearance (Becker-Wegerich et al. 2001). Botox partially blocks the nerve to the injected muscle. It usually takes about 3-5 days to notice the effects of Botox, and the effect lasts 4-6 months. Botox injections are best done on the upper third of the face. Forehead lines, furrows between the eyebrows, and lines around the eyes ("crow's feet") respond favorably to Botox. Frown lines (below the mouth) and chin creases may also be improved with a Botox injection, but the response varies. The cost of a Botox injection is about $400 and includes up to 35 units of Botox. If Botox migrates to the wrong muscle, side effects such as drooping of the eyelid or unevenness of the eyebrows may develop. Botox is purely cosmetic and has no actual healing effect on the skin itself.

The Inside Story
Nourishing the skin with topical ingredients is important, but in addition it is essential that you feed your skin nourishing food and drink. The effects of aging can be seen directly by looking at skin, not something possible for most organs in the body, which are hidden from view. The following are general considerations for nutritional optimization of skin function:

As much as possible, remove all processed foods from your diet. There are two reasons for this. First, processed foods tend to contain high levels of sodium, sugar, fat, and other undesirables, such as color and preservatives. Second, processed foods usually contain less nutrition than whole foods. Strange as it may seem, "enriched bread" has had 60% of its minerals removed along with most of the fiber. Some nutrients have been added back, but only some. The nutrient density of processed foods is very low and leaves much to be desired.
Eat foods that are natural and whole, such as whole grains, fresh or frozen vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, and so forth. Your plate should contain mainly fruits, vegetables, and grains with a small amount of protein, such as fish or poultry, added.
Drink plenty of water: 8 glasses a day are recommended. (Some of our water requirements can come from fruits and vegetables.)
Do not fry foods or barbecue them for long periods of time.
Use alcohol only in moderation: one drink a day, for example.
Eat foods that are high in antioxidants. These foods are highly colored, such as cantaloupe, spinach, berries, and cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, cabbage, and sprouts).
Remove sugar and saturated fats. Use a sweetener if you like.
Take a good multivitamin with an added antioxidant formula, particularly mixed carotenes, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and zinc. Add some vitamin A, the "skin vitamin," together with supplements of RNA and B vitamins (for coenzymes) and the minerals zinc, copper, and manganese. These provide even more intensive protection against damaging free radicals. The increased cellular energy helps the skin repair, renew, and revitalize itself.

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These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease