In the U.S. and around the world, the popularity of minimally invasive cosmetic procedures continues to increase. Soft tissue injectables, also known as dermal fillers, are popular procedures that improve the appearance of aging and sun-damaged skin by restoring lost volume and filling lines. A recent clinical study sheds light on how cross-linked hyaluronic acid, CL-HA, a widely used dermal filler, works to improve skin appearance.
Speaking today at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy), dermatologist Dana L. Sachs, MD, FAAD, associate professor in the department of dermatology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., presented findings of a study demonstrating how CL-HA stimulates collagen repair in the skin. These findings may partially account for the known clinical benefits of this type of filler.
Skin aging refers to two common types of aging - natural or chronologic aging and photoaging. Natural aging is characterized by fine lines, skin laxity, and uniform color of sun-exposed and sun-protected skin. Photoaging refers to accelerated skin aging due to the effects of sun exposure. With photoaging, deep, coarse wrinkles, skin laxity, redness and variable discoloration of sun-exposed skin is common. In both types of skin aging, tissue examination reveals that collagen, the major structural protein of the skin, is fragmented and reduced. In addition, the cells that produce collagen (fibroblasts) exist in a "collapsed" state, meaning that they are not producing collagen optimally or as efficiently as they can.