-         Archive of Dermatology –

Retinol, also known as Vitamin A, helps to slow down the appearance of fine wrinkles in elderly people, says the recent study, performed by a group of scientists from the University of Michigan Medical School, Stanford Medical School, USA, and Seoul National University, South Korea.

Retinol is a fat soluble vitamin, which can be found in many natural products, such as dark or yellow vegetables, carrots, and in certain animal sources like dairy products, eggs, liver or kidney. Vitamin A participates in many important processes within the human organism, such as metabolism and vision.

The derivatives of vitamin A, such as tretinoin and isotretinoin, are main ingredients of skin care medicines, used to treat acne. The most commonly prescribed medications with retinol derivatives as their key working agent are Retin-A, Retin-A Micro, Renova, and Accutane.  

The study, the results of which were published in the May issue of online Archive of Dermatology, aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of topical retinol (Vitamin A) in improving the clinical signs of naturally aged skin.

Scientists designed a randomized, double-blind and placebo-control study. In total 36 participants were enrolled for the study. The mean age of the participants was 87 years. By the way, the optimistic results of this study can be doubted, since too few people were observed during the study. However, the scientists did not say why so few participants were chosen.

During the study, which lasted for 24 weeks all the participants visited dermatologist office three times a week. During such visits, one group of patients was treated with 0,4% retinol topical lotion and the other group was treated with the placebo lotion (without any active ingredient). The lotion was applied to either left or right arm in the areas, which are not commonly exposed to sun light (such as inner upper arm).

In order to evaluate the skin condition, namely the appearance of fine wrinkles, before and after the treatment with retinol scientists used two methods: photographic assessment and skin biopsy.

Comparing the photographs and skin biopsy samples, scientists saw that those people who received retinol treatment had significantly less wrinkles appeared on skin than those who were treated with placebo lotion.

The study results showed that retinol was very effective in reducing the appearance of fine wrinkles in elderly people. In response to retinol the skin became visibly improved after 4 weeks of treatment, and the process of skin smoothing lasted during the whole period of applying retinol lotion.

However, the researchers admitted that retinol does not eliminate wrinkles forever. After the end of the study scientists continued to observe the patients treated with retinol for some time; and they noted that the achieved skin improvements faded with the lapse of time after the end of treatment.

Thus, the results of this small study proved the potential of using retinol and its derivatives for the treatment of various skin conditions. Being widely used nowadays as anti-acne medications, retinol-based products may also improve fine wrinkles associated with natural aging process.  

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External resources
http://archderm.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/143/5/606
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/news/20070522/retinol-may-s...
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-a/NS_patient-vitamina

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