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ADVANCES IN SKIN CARE - Part III
Antioxidants - The Fountain of Youth?
Timothy J. Mickel, M.D., F.A.C.S.
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Remember the opening scene of Planet of the Apes? Charlton Heston and his fellow astronauts had completed their mission, set a course back to Earth, and climbed into their hermetically sealed, individual sleep bays to dream of splashdown and home. Unfortunately, they entered a turbulent time warp, which sent them plummeting down to a simian version of Future Shock. In the process, the sleep bay of the female crew member (who was pretty good looking when she turned in) was cracked. Overnight, she underwent several centuries of aging and by morning was only a fossilized relic of the blonde who went to bed. The script writers, humanely, never let her wake up to see herself in the mirror.
Little did I know when I first saw this scene that this woman fell victim to the accelerated effects of oxygen free radicals - volatile molecules with single, unpaired electrons that wreck havoc on our cells. Free radicals are potentially toxic substances produced during normal cell metabolism by all organisms that use oxygen. They are highly reactive molecules, because the single unpaired electron actively and aggressively seeks a mate with which to form a chemical bond. Our bodies produce excess free radicals in response to environmental stresses such as ultraviolet radiation, tobacco byproducts and certain viral illnesses to name just a few.
Free radicals have been implicated in numerous chronic diseases and are felt to be the main culprit in the aging process itself. "Oxidative stress" is a term used to describe damage to our tissues caused by the over production of free radicals. In the skin, unchecked free radical production can degrade collagen, destroy elastic tissue and reprogram DNA. Over time, this damage may result in aging, wrinkles and skin cancer.
Humans, being aerobic organisms, live in a perpetual Catch-22. We need oxygen to live, but oxygen metabolism by our cells throws off toxic, oxygen byproducts that slowly kill us and make us look old in the process. Fortunately, our cells also produce antioxidants - the body's defense mechanism against free radical damage and oxidative stress. Antioxidants scavenge and neutralize injurious free radicals, and as such are natural candidates in the search for substances that will help prevent cancer and retard the aging process. Some antioxidants, such as superoxide dismutase, are produced by our cells, while other more familiar ones, such as vitamins C and E and beta-carotene are supplied by diet.
Evaluating the ability of dietary antioxidants to prevent disease is an area of intense research. Equally intense is the interest in developing topical antioxidant formulations that can be applied directly to the skin to help prevent skin cancers and slow the development of visible signs of aging. One of the problems with all topical preparations is making sure they get absorbed into the skin where they can actually do some good. This is especially true with antioxidants, which are not effective on the skin surface and must penetrate to be of benefit. Moreover, the same properties that make them helpful to us also make them highly unstable. They readily oxidize upon contact with air or water, rendering them useless. So you can't just rub fresh oranges on your face to look younger - the Vitamin C won't be absorbed and it will degrade upon exposure to air.
Researchers at Duke University and the University of Wisconsin have developed an ingenious way to solve this dilemma with respect to topical Vitamin C. They have developed a water based Vitamin C formulation called Cellex-C that delivers 20-40 times the amount of Vitamin C normally found in skin. These are pharmacologic levels that cannot be achieved by diet alone. Cellex-C has a "reservoir effect" in the skin, that is, it is absorbed and stays in the skin for up to 72 hours and cannot be washed or rubbed off. Moreover, the Vitamin C in Cellex-C is in the form of L-ascorbic acid, known to be the only form of Vitamin C that our cells can recognize and utilize to stimulate collagen synthesis.
The Duke research shows that the free radical scavenging effects of Vitamin C help protect the skin against the oxidative stress caused by UVA and UVB exposure. Vitamin C also helps prevent so called "UV immunosuppression", a decrease in our skin's ability to get rid of abnormal cells which many believe is a major reason excessive sun exposure leads to some types of skin cancer. So while topical Vitamin C is not a sunscreen, it can certainly be used in conjunction with your sunscreen for an added measure of protection.
The free radical fighting effect of the vitamin C reservoir can also gradually work to normalize the damaged collagen and elastin fibers in the dermis. Over time this may lead to firmer, healthier looking skin and a diminution of wrinkles. In addition to Cellex-C, Vitamin C can also be delivered to the dermis through the use of patches designed to be worn overnight. The "Osmogen Patch", made by the same company that makes Glyderm products, can augment the skin's reservoir of Vitamin C and also delivers Vitamin E, another major antioxidant. The patches are designed to be worn about three nights a week, so you can coordinate them with your bleaching trays, breathe right strips, migraines and other things that might interfere with your marriage.
The newest topical antioxidant to arrive on the scene is pyncnogenol, one of a family of compounds known as proanthocyanidins. These substances are found in many plants and are felt to be significantly more powerful than both Vitamin C and Vitamin E. Theraderm RS-OPC Reparative Gel by Therapon, is a moisturizer that utilizes proanthocyanidins, vitamin E and other natural ingredients in a elegant product that may be a useful addition to any skin care regimen.
While antioxidants are not yet the fountain of youth, research on their mechanism of action and purported benefits continues. They aren't a facelift in a bottle, but they can certainly help with some of the external signs of aging and sun damage. After all, the sixth chapter of Genesis says that man shall live on earth for 120 years. We might as well preserve what we've got for as long as we can. For more information on Cellex-C, Osmogen patches or RS-OPC Reparative Gel, come by Dermatique and speak to one of our skin care specialists.
