A study on the alterations in skin viscoelasticity before and after an intradermal administration of growth factor

Abstract

Background:While photo-aging is believed to be preventable by the complete blockage of ultraviolet rays, there is no epoch-making method except sing fillers or autologous fat injection, for rejuvenating the skin once it has aged.Objective:Our group developed a new method for rejuvenating aged skin by the direct intradermal injection of basic fibroblast growth factor, the first method of its kind in the world. In this paper we report the results of long-term follow-up observations and alterations in skin viscoelasticity before and after this treatment.Materials and Methods:A single dose of growth factor was injected directly into aged skin of the dorsal surface of the hand intradermally. The skin viscoelasticity of 50 treated cases was measured by a cutometer just before the treatment and at 1, 3, 6, and 9 months after treatment, respectively.Results:We observed the following rejuvenating effects: improved skin softness, gradual improvement of turgor, improved thickness of atrophied skin, and greatly improved viscoelasticity which reveals the improvement of biomechanical properties of the treated aged skin. According to the comparisons of viscoelasticity between pre- and post-treatment, the rejuvenated changes of R2 and R7 values were comparable to an age difference of more than 20 years.Conclusion:This method was confirmed to have excellent effects in rejuvenating aged skin safely and reliably including biomechanical properties. With this advance, we expect conventional non-physiological skin rejuvenating treatments to be replaced by a much more fundamental method using one-time injections of the growth factor.

Analysis of human skin tissue by a skin-meter: A preliminary study

“…This preliminary study demonstrates the functionality of Skin-meter and confirms that the measurements not are affected by the optical components of the circuitry with use of a specific probe, so the skin and area measurements are not invalidated by the presence of blood microcirculation of the subjects tested. Skin parameters are also easily detected and analysed, the data prove to be in agreement with results reported in previous studies [12,[14][15][16]. The method used may be effective in a specific way: only dermis portion of human skin is considered and this allows detecting the physiological requirements necessary to the human skin to not be compromised after training.…”

Efficacy of fractional laser, radiofrequency and IPL rejuvenation of periorbital region

“…The increase in these values may indicate a decrease in the viscosity of interstitial fluid as a result of increased water content and changes in the composition or structure of proteoglycans [8]. Other authors report that parameter R6 depends on skin hydration [9][10][11], while others have found that with ageing, changes in skin elasticity coefficient (R2, R7) are more pronounced than those in skin viscoelasticity (R6) [12,13]. Kruger et al report a high correlation between R2 and age, and a low one between R6 and age, and recommend that parameters R2 and R7 be used in the assessment of skin ageing [14].…”

The effect of probe to skin contact force on Cutometer MPA 580 measurements

“…This device has been utilized to assess a variety of clinical and basic science outcomes. From a clinical perspective, the Cutometer has been used to assess changes in skin elasticity after radiation therapy [10], CO 2 laser treatments [11], as well as assess the efficacy other proposed skin tightening methods [12]. From a basic science perspective, the device has the ability to quantify changes in elasticity as people age [8], changes based on hydration [3] as well as across body regions [13].…”