Vitamin A lotion reduces wrinkles
Sun, 24 Jun 2007 10:14:59
A research suggests that application of retinol, a
form of vitamin A, makes older people less prone to skin
wrinkles and poor healing of wounds.
Three dozen white people - average age, 87 - had a skin
moisturizer laced with retinol applied to one of their
inner arms a couple of times a week for six months; a
placebo was applied to the other arm, Los Angeles Times
reported.
By the end of the testing period, fine wrinkling - which
was assessed on a scale from zero, for none, to 9, for
severe - declined considerably on the retinol-treated
skin, from an average of 7.25 to 5.61.
The researchers speculated that the retinol increased
the production of collagen, which helps make skin
elastic, and of glycosaminoglycan, which retains water.
Most of the 36 participants experienced some redness or
itchiness where the retinol had been applied, though
only three found these reactions severe enough to
withdraw from the study.
Retinoic acid, a different form of vitamin A, is used to
treat acne and sunlight-damaged skin. Sold under Retin-A
and other brands, it is unsuitable for geriatric
patients, the researchers noted, because of the
irritation it often causes.
Eleven of the seniors who received follow-up exams found
the benefits of the drug to be transitory: Six months
after the study, the researchers found no significant
differences between the retinol-treated skin and the
placebo-treated skin.
