Skin damaged by excessive sun exposure could benefit from a different type of light therapy. According to new research conducted by the University of Michigan Health System, sun-damaged skin may be improved by treatment with a topical product that increases the skins sensitivity to light, followed by laser therapy.
In this study, researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor used photodynamic therapy to treat 25 people, aged 54 to 83. The study participants all had sun-damaged skin on their forearms. Researchers rated each patients degree of skin damage and took tissue samples from their forearms. They next applied a solution containing 5-Aminolevulinic Acid (5-ALA) to the damaged skin and left it on for three hours.
The results? The treatment produced a five-fold increase in Ki67 protein, believed to play an important role in the growth and development of new skin cells! And levels of the important skin proteins procollagen I and procollagen III increased significantly after treatment. Some patients even experienced a 1.4-fold increase in the thickness of the outer layer of skin.