Skin Growths in the Aged

Abstract

Skin disorders are very common among elderly people. All physicians who care for this population should possess the ability to recognise common benign growths. Primary care physicians should also have the ability to recognise premalignant and malignant lesions, so that early diagnosis and treatment is possible. It is puzzling that the organ system most amenable to examination is so often overlooked in routine examinations. By simply taking the time to perform a skin examination, morbidity and mortality can be decreased. Through improvements in pharmacotherapy, particularly the development of more effective sunscreens, it may eventually be possible to markedly reduce the development of many benign and malignant skin lesions.

Selective matrix (hyaluronan) interaction with CD44 and RhoGTPase signaling promotes keratinocyte functions and overcomes age-related epidermal dysfunction

“…proliferation, migration, differentiation, and permeability barrier formation) [13, 42–44]. After terminal differentiation, keratinocytes are lost from the outermost epidermal layers, but they are replaced as the basal layer keratinocytes cease proliferating, undergo suprabasal differentiation, apical migration, ultimately forming the outermost cornified layers [43, 44].…”

“…Age-related declines in total HA production have also been documented in both rodent [11] and human aged skin [12]. In addition, alterations in HA metabolism are associated with reduced skin growth [13] and impaired wound healing [14], and/or delayed resolution of a variety of skin diseases [1–3]. All of these observations support the idea that both low levels of HA deposition and HA size modifications could underlie age-associated changes that occur during skin disease progression.…”

Factors Influencing Patient Decisions Regarding Treatments for Skin Growths: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Skin growths are a common presenting complaint in the outpatient dermatology setting, commonly manifesting as seborrheic keratoses, cysts, warts, lipomas, actinic keratoses, nonmelanoma skin cancers, benign nevi, and malignant melanomas [ 1 , 2 ]. For each type of skin growth, existing treatment modalities confer different benefits and risks, necessitating individualized patient decision-making when selecting a treatment [ 3 , 4 ].…”