Body News.(facial therapy)(Survey)

Byline: Kristin Sainani

Age-Spot Advance

Uneven skin tone can add 10 to 15 years to a woman's appearance, according to one study. Now, researchers have made a discovery that could help improve upon the traditional hydroquinone and kojic-acid creams, which target the skin cells that make pigment (melanocytes). Scientists in the United States and Japan have determined that skin cells called keratinocytes regulate the amount of pigment that melanocytes produce. So "you have a whole new cell type to look at for controlling pigmentation," says Raymond E. Boissy, professor of dermatology and cell biology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. It may be easier to manipulate keratinocytes, because they are abundant and turn over quickly, he says, and the finding could lead to innovations in sunless tanning as well in treatments for age spots and pigment disorders.

Weight and Skin

Maintaining a healthy weight may be a key factor in preventing the skin disorder psoriasis, marked by red, scaly patches. When researchers studied 78,626 women for 14 years, they found that the risk of the disease was 40 percent higher for overweight women compared with healthy-weight ones, and highest among obese subjects. For women who had gained 35 pounds or more since age 18, the risk was 88 percent greater than for those whose weight was stable. Fat deposits can cause chronic, low-grade inflammation that may trigger the disease, says Arathi R. Setty, researcher and doctor at Harvard ...