Abstract
Background: Risk of photocarcinogenesis and the relevance of collagen in wrinkle effacement are two issues related to prolonged use of retinoic acid (RA) that have not been fully addressed. Objective: Our purpose was to investigate the degree of epidermal cellular atypia and the thickness of papillary dermal collagen in photoaging after long-term use of RA. Methods: Thirty-four subjects with photoaged skin were treated daily with 0.05% RA for at least 6 months. Epidermal cellular atypia was graded by means of a semiquantitative scale. Thickness of collagen band was measured by using image-analysis software. Results: Compared with pretreatment findings, melanocytic and keratinocytic atypia was significantly reduced and the collagen band thickness doubled. Limitations: This was an open-label study. Conclusion: Improvement in epidermal cellular atypia is consistent with the ability of RA to act as a chemopreventive agent in epithelial carcinogenesis. Prolonged use also significantly increased collagen matrix deposition in dermal repair zones, which most likely contributes to wrinkle effacement by RA.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 769-774 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology |
Volume | 53 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2005 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Dermatology