Why aren't folds just imperfections in beauty
Wrinkles are a visible sign of aging. However, wrinkles could also be driving the aging process of the entire body. A researcher explains the connections, the role of senescent cells, and how the aging of the skin can be slowed down in the future.
Regardless of how much water one drinks or which supposed wonder creams one uses: Wrinkles adorn every face at some point. Few people welcome the arrival of wrinkles and lines. Correspondingly, the cosmetics industry is working intensely on countermeasures. Research is also concerned with the aging of our skin - and comes to surprising findings.
According to science, there is justification for the aversion to wrinkles: A research group from the Berlin Humboldt University reported in 2023 in the journal "Acta Psychologica" on an experiment in which about 350 subjects were shown images of virtual persons. Each face had two variations: with wrinkles and without. In fact, wrinkle-free faces appeared more attractive, especially for women. Participants assigned more negative feelings and a poorer character to wrinkled faces.
Many people use creams, Botox, or surgical interventions to counteract the aging of the skin. While some aspects of the aging process are genetically determined, others are due to external factors - such as ultraviolet radiation from the sun, heat and cold, or air pollution, as well as lifestyle factors such as unhealthy nutrition, alcohol and nicotine consumption, and stress.
Inflammation from "Zombie Cells"
Wrinkles are a visible sign of the human aging process - and could even be driving the aging of the body itself. This suspicion is based on the observation that aging skin contains more so-called senescent cells: These "zombie cells," as they are somewhat flippantly called, no longer divide like healthy cells but do not die either. The process serves our protection, as it prevents old cells, in which DNA damage has accumulated under certain circumstances, from further multiplying.
Senescent cells are, however, metabolically active and secrete substances that promote inflammation - and are linked to a range of diseases such as dementia, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. In other words: It is conceivable that wrinkles are not just a sign of aging but are causing other tissues or organs to age as well.
Claudia Cavadas from the Portuguese University of Coimbra is researching this. The neuroscientist published a 2022 op-ed in the journal "Trends in Molecular Medicine" under the title "Skin Senescence: Mechanisms and Effects on Whole Body Aging." In an interview, Cavadas describes how she became interested in the topic: Initially, she had focused on the connection between the brain area hypothalamus and aging processes. Then, in 2009, she heard about a study published in "Science," according to which monkeys, whose caloric intake was restricted, lived longer: "This link was not new, but the images published with the study particularly caught my attention: The animals looked much younger than their counterparts, which were allowed to eat - my interest was piqued."
At a conference, a colleague reported that it was noticeable from photos if a person was suffering from a cardiovascular disease, Cavadas recalled. At the same time, I was also occupied with senescent cells. The skin is our largest organ and ages under internal and external influences. My idea was: Maybe we could generally prevent aging if we prevented senescent cells from spreading?
According to another study, mice whose skin was aged through UV light exposure showed differences in memory, Cavadas added. There were also isolated indications that people with certain skin diseases developed Alzheimer's earlier.
A Piece of the Puzzle
It would make sense that an aging skin could drive aging in general, explained the researcher. "Every time an organ ages, aging affects other organs. Therefore, it would not be surprising that the aging of the skin also affects the aging of other body parts - possibly starting from the inflammatory molecules from the senescent cells of the skin." This needs to be proven.
"If we think about the many factors that influence skin aging, we see these connections," Cavadas noted. "For example, if we consider sleep: A night with too little sleep, we not only notice our skin, but we also notice that we are not quite at our best mentally. This is simply physiology: Our organs are not separate, but communicate. Correspondingly, the idea of a skin-brain axis is not so far-fetched."
Aging is a holistic process for Cavadas. It's not enough to take good care of your skin if your gut, internal clock, and other factors are neglected. "The skin is just a piece of the puzzle. Correspondingly, many wrinkles also do not mean that someone lives shorter. The whole picture is relevant. But protecting the skin from aging factors such as the sun is important."
According to Cavadas, preventing the aging of the skin is not just a matter of vanity: "We know that 90% of all diseases are due to aging processes, including dementia and liver problems." Therefore, it is all the more important to keep one's own biological age - in comparison to the chronological age, which cannot be influenced - low. "If we therefore slow down aging - also that of the skin - we delay these diseases, even if we cannot completely prevent them," Cavadas hypothesized.
Stressed, Sagging, and Wrinkled
Studies suggest that skin aging already begins with the 25th birthday. Early skin damage is mainly due to UV radiation: It penetrates deep into the skin layers and causes cell damage there. The resulting free radicals are responsible for the so-called oxidative stress, which breaks down collagen and elastin fibers - both substances that are essential for the tension and elasticity of the skin.
At the same time, the skin loses its ability to store water due to a lack of collagen and hyaluronic acid, and it dries out. Added to this is the shrinking of the subcutaneous fat layer. These developments promote the formation of lines and wrinkles and, according to a 2021 study published in the journal "Scientific Reports," are unavoidable.
According to the Group's description in the journal "Frontiers in Aging" at the end of 2023, a greater variety in the skin microbiome, specifically more crowfeet - the wrinkles around the outer eye corners - is associated with it. At the same time, a more diverse settlement of the skin with bacteria and other microorganisms seems to have advantages, as it leads to less water loss or moisture deficiency in other skin regions.
However, it is still too early to derive possible ways from these results on how the microbiome can be influenced in the direction of fewer wrinkles, as the group that collaborated with a cosmetics manufacturer pointed out.
Skin cells made 30 years younger in the lab
To combat skin aging, a possible method could be the use of a technique that relies on embryonic stem cells. British researchers managed to make the skin cells of a 53-year-old woman so young again in 2022 that they resembled those of a 23-year-old. As reported in the journal "eLife", they used a method that was already used at the turn of the millennium in the cloned sheep Dolly and was later developed by Japanese stem cell researcher Shinya Yamanaka: In essence, chemicals are used to convert mature cells into iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells).
The team used this method more efficiently to treat skin cell donations from a 53-year-old woman in the lab. However, these donor cells did not turn into stem cells but remained skin cells - with a notable difference: They not only looked like they came from a 30-year-old person but also functioned that way.
The cells produced more collagen proteins - the substance that gives the skin elasticity - and migrated faster to areas that need to be repaired. However, there are still significant hurdles to applying this to humans: The iPS method increases the cancer risk - presumably due to permanent genetic changes in the cells.
Despite the use of skincare products and cosmetic procedures like Botox, the aging of skin is a complex process influenced by various factors such as sun exposure, pollution, and lifestyle choices. Researchers are exploring alternative paths, like targeting senescent cells, which are metabolically active but non-dividing cells that accumulate with age. These cells secrete substances that promote inflammation and are linked to various diseases like dementia and cancer.
A study published in the journal "Acta Psychologica" in 2023 revealed that wrinkle-free faces were perceived as more attractive, especially by women, suggesting a societal preference for youthful appearances. Research on stem cell research is another promising avenue; British scientists, for instance, succeeded in making the skin cells of a 53-year-old woman appear 30 years younger in a lab using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). However, significant hurdles remain in applying this to humans due to the increased cancer risk associated with the iPS method.
Alternative research is being conducted in the field of "Alternsresearch," focusing on alternatives to conventional cosmetics and aging treatments. Investments in Altersresearch, either from individual consumers or larger organizations, can help drive research toward safer, more sustainable, and potentially more effective anti-aging solutions.
