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Daniel Asselineau from L'Oreal Recherche of Clichy, France, and
Arnold Caplan, director of CWRU's Skeletal Research Center, have
not only organized the conference but are researchers concerned
about how the skin-the body's largest organ and major defense
against disease-functions in older years. They are making presentations
that eventually will help solve the medical question of how to
keep skin younger and healthier.
This is the second international symposium sponsored by the research
and development division of L'Oreal. Through its commitment to
basic research, L'Oreal, one of the world's leaders in skin and
hair products, provides these symposiums as a forum for scientists
to exchange ideas and information, according to Caplan. The first
international symposium took place two years ago in Lyon, France,
and focused on artificial skin for burn patients and the study
of cell and molecular skin tissue.
"Knowing what happens to the skin is becoming increasingly important,"
Caplan said.
By the year 2008, it is projected that more than 25 percent of
the population will be older than 65 years. Knowing the health
consequences of aging skin will help this group stay healthier.
"For too long, people have taken the skin for granted. Doctors
use skin as a window into how people are feeling, but as people
grow older, it becomes less useful. We want to know why," said
Caplan, who, wiith funding from L'Oreal, conducts basic research
on the skin and how it ages and produces wrinkles.
Asselineau's research is in the area of photoaging and the biological
effects produced by ultraviolet sunrays. His research in recreating
skin in the lab is geared toward finding ways to protect the skin
against sun damage. Symposium presentations will explore various
areas of skin research:
- Cellular and molecular mechanisms of skin
aging: Among the presenters will be Vincent Monnier from
CWRU's School of Medicine. He will report on how skin collagen
undergoes dramatic age-related changes. In a study of the skin
of 10 mammalian species, he has found a link between diet and
related chemical processes that harden the collagen over time.
Dietary restriction can delay this stiffening. For diabetics,
the process is twice the rate of a nondiabetic individual and
can be related to the early onset of medical problems associated
with aging.
- Photoaging: Ultraviolet or sunlight
damage to the skin has lasting effects. Among the presenters
will be John Voorhees from the University of Michigan's department
of dermatology. While a sunburn heals in a few days, Voorhees
says each UV exposure "causes a microwound that is imperfectly
repaired (microscar) by the normal wound-healing process." He
will talk about how over time these microscars produce photoaging
of the skin.
- Aging and skin repair: One of the highlights
of this session will be Mark Ferguson's talk revealing the effects
of aging on the body's ability to repair wounds. The researcher
from the University of Manchester in England will discuss how
embryos can heal without scarring, while scarring begins to
occur at different rates at birth and throughout life. He will
discuss the transforming growth factors involved in healing
and inflammatory responses to wounds-especially in the elderly
who have slow inflammatory responses that can lead to chronic,
nonhealing wounds.
- Skin care and biotechnology: Human
skin is at its peak in the late 20s and early 30s. Calvin Harley
from the Geron Corporation in Menlo Park, Calif., will discuss
the multiple interacting factors, such as sun damage and natural
aging, that influence cellular and extracellular structures
and functions. He will talk about the function of telomeres,
genetic elements on the ends of chromosomes, and what happens
when they are present or absent. According to Harley, "telomerase
is permanently turned on in essentially all cancer cells."
For information, call CWRU's Skeletal Research Center at 216-368-3562.
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