A COMPARISON OF ATROPHIC AND HYPERTROPHIC FACIAL PHOTOAGEING

Abstract

Abstract Background: Photoageing is due to the cumulative effects of sun exposure superimposed on chronological cutaneous ageing. Clinically, amongst Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV, it is thought that two main phenotypes of facial photoageing may exist: atrophic smooth telangiectactic skin (AP) and hypertrophic coarse wrinkled skin (HP). AP is more prone to the development of non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC). Aim: To investigate the morphological and histological differences in photoexposed facial skin and photoprotected buttock skin from prototypic subjects with atrophic skin and hypertrophic phenotypes. Patients and Methods: Subjects with atrophic and hypertrophic skin were pre-selected based on their phenotype from the general population (n=40; n=20, hypertrophic phenotype, 10 males, 10 females; n=20, atrophic phenotype, 10 males, 10 females). All subjects had a 4mm punch biopsy taken from their UV exposed facial skin (cheek) and a 6mm punch biopsy taken from their UV-protected buttock skin. All selected participants were: ex- or non-smokers, had no history of inflammatory skin disease, and aged > 50 years (mean ± SE); [AP (78.7y ±2.02) and HP (74.6y ±2.08)]. Staining for elastic fibres, fibrillin-rich microfibrils (FRMs), collagen VII and Von Willebrand Factor (vWF) as well as morphometric measurements including dermal-epidermal convolution and epidermal thickness were performed. Demographic data and VISIA® photoassessments were additionally compiled. Analysis using ImageJ software and SPSS (Statistics 20; IBM) was performed. Results: We found that AP epidermis was thicker than HP (p0.05). The percentage of dermis occupied by mature elastin fibres was significantly greater in HP than AP (p

Date of Award	31 Dec 2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Christopher Griffiths (Supervisor), Rachel Watson (Supervisor) & Tamara Griffiths (Supervisor)