Dermal Fillers May Keep Us Young Someday

As you know, Little Rock Cosmetic Surgery Center offers dermal fillers such as Juvéderm® and Restylane® to restore the volume in your face, and to fill out folds and wrinkles. It turns out that scientists are discovering ways to keep skin from aging using these same kinds of fillers. At the University of Michigan Medical School, research has been done pointing to evidence that skin cells can not only be made to appear younger but actually act younger! It has to do with the “extracellulal matrix,” or ECM. This is the tissue that surrounds and supports the cells. The ECM is made of collagen, a substance we are very familiar with in cosmetic surgery. We know that collagen is what gives volume and along with keratin is what makes the skin waterproof, strong, and elastic. The skin cells produce these connections to the ECM by making fibroblasts of collagen. As we age the collagen breaks down and the skin cells lose support and connections. The skin cells are then not as well nourished and begin to lose their resiliency.  It’s a vicious circle! The support tissue breaks down making the skin cells less capable of creating more fibroblasts that would keep them connected and nourished. This is the aging that causing wrinkles, and lack of elasticity.

The researchers at U of M did what cosmetic surgeons have been doing for years but with another goal.  They injected the skin of twenty one 80-year-olds with a dermal filler, a hyaluronic acid. What they found was that over a period of 3 months these fibroblasts began making more collagen. One way of putting it is that the supporting tissue of the cells began taking care of itself. This happened because the fibroblasts began to “express collagen-related genes.” Gene expression is when a gene begins to create a product, usually a protein. When the fibroblasts began to create collagen related genes, these genes in turn produced more collagen. In turn, the layer of skin was better nourished and became stronger, thicker, and grew more blood vessels. The skin got younger! As the head author of the study said, “…we’ve shown that we can essentially trigger a signal for cells to wake up.” So perhaps in the future many types of cells can be “woken up” and begin functioning  as they did when they were young.

Of course more research must be done. Part of the upcoming research will be to see if other kinds of tissues in the body can be urged to “act young” again too. But you can have a rejuvenated look by coming to Little Rock Cosmetic Surgery Center for dermal fillers such as Juvéderm® and Restylane® right now, though we cannot promise it will make your skin younger, it will look younger.

Dr. Branman

Call Melinda at the front desk to set up a consultation 501-227-0707