Search is Powered by Google
Follow us on:
Follow our health news on Twitter
Follow Our News on Facebook
Personalization
login | register
Dermatology News

Beauty Secret For Balanced Skin Color And Tone Discovered By Scientists

Main Category: Dermatology
Also Included In: Cosmetic Medicine / Plastic Surgery
Article Date: 26 Aug 2007 - 11:00 PDT

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions   rate icon rate article
Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:4 stars

3.75 (4 votes)

Health Professional:5 stars

5 (3 votes)

Article Opinions: 1 posts

In the timeless quest for healthier, younger looking skin, scientists from the University of Cincinnati and Tokyo Medical University have made an important discovery toward manipulating skin tone and color. The implications of this research range from helping doctors develop more natural looking bioengineered skin grafts to helping cosmetics companies develop new products for achieving the "perfect" sunless tan. The research study, published in the September print issue of The FASEB Journal, shows for the first time how to manipulate skin color and tone using cells previously thought to play no significant role in this function.

"Most immediately, this study should lead to bioengineered skin grafts that more closely resemble the natural tone and color of recipients, which may help reduce the appearance of scarring," said Gerald Weissmann, MD, Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "Down the road, however, this study opens doors to new types of cosmetics based on our understanding of how and why 'skin deep' differences in appearance evolved over millions of years."

In the article, researchers describe how cells responsible for pigmentation, called melanocytes, can be controlled by the most commonly occurring skin cells, called keratinocytes, which produce no pigment of their own. Working with bioengineered skin, which is used for some types of skin grafts, the researchers juggled various mixtures keratinocytes from people with different types of skin colors. In turn, the keratinocytes produced chemical signals to "tell" melanocytes to produce more or less pigment, called melanin, as well as how to distribute that pigment. The researchers found that using keratinocytes from light-skinned individuals had a lightening effect on the bioengineered skin graft material, while keratinocytes from dark-skinned individuals had a darkening effect. This is a significant finding as it shows a conclusive link between keratinocytes and melanocytes and because keratinocytes are much easier to manipulate than melanocytes.

Medical conditions that sometimes require the use of bioengineered skin grafts include severe burns, scleroderma, epidermis bullosa, diabetes, and venous leg ulcers. In addition, the study's senior researcher, Raymond Boissy, says this study also could "help the quality of life for people with pigment diseases such as vitiligo, melasma and age spotting by making their skin more healthy looking."

----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------

The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org/) is published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and is consistently ranked among the top three biology journals worldwide by the Institute for Scientific Information. FASEB comprises 21 nonprofit societies with more than 80,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. FASEB advances biological science through collaborative advocacy for research policies that promote scientific progress and education and lead to improvements in human health.

Source: Cody Mooneyhan
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology




Personalized Homepage Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Hemophilia Opioid Induced Constipation Pneumococcal Disease ADHD Anxiety Asthma Atrial Fibrillation Autism Cancer Diabetes Lung Cancer Lupus Medicare / Medicaid Obesity and BMI Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells All 'What Is...' Articles

Ophthalmology Urology
About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Links Contact Us

add medical news today to your facebook
medical news gadget

Please fill in our survey

Swine Flu Image

Swine Flu Updates

- Latest Swine Flu News
- What is Swine Flu?
- Map Of H1N1 Outbreaks
- Swine Flu - Top 20 FAQ
- Daily Email News Alerts
Stick with Medical News Today for the latest news updates on swine flu.


These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Top Article Star
What Is Dandruff? What Causes Dandruff?
06 Jun 2009
Dandruff affects the scalp and causes flakes of skin to appear - it is a common condition. Our skin cells are forever renewing themselves. When the skin cells on our scalp are renewed the old ones are pushed to the surface and out of the scalp...


Nail Salon Safety image Nail Salon Safety

A trip to the nail salon: Time for the toes to take center stage. But those pretty nails can come with a price...

Acne Basics image Acne Basics

The first step to clearing up acne is getting the facts. Learn the facts about acne-prone skin and how best to treat it...

View more videos...