Ageing
Skin is subjected to may internal ageing processes as well as various external stressors leading to distinct structural changes and affecting not only its youthful appearance but also its various physiological functions. Some of the many characteristics of ageing is disturbed skin processes including permeability.? Some other changes in skin include impaired angiogenesis, most often defined as the sprouting of new capillaries from existing vessels (some are non-functional blood vessels or vascular matting, where you can see diffused redness and capillaries), lipid and sweat production, immune function and vitamin D synthesis. Manifesting among others we also see? impaired wound healing, atrophy, vulnerability to external stimuli and development of several benign and malignant diseases. Ageing skin refers to changes reflecting the internal ageing process of the body and is observed externally by fine wrinkles, loss of elasticity, reduced epidermal and dermal thickness, while microscopically the process is not so visible to the naked eye but epidermal atrophy, decreased cell turnover, decreased proliferative capacity,? atrophy of the dermal extracellular matrix and changes of the physiological properties of the connective tissues, are typical characteristics. Photo-aged skin is the skin where endogenous aging processes are being aggravated by external stressors, mainly UV irradiation, but also by tobacco, chemicals and pollution. Apart from many similarities in the endogenously aged skin, extrinsic aged skin is also characterised by a thickened epidermis and a hyperplasia of elastic tissue or solar elastosis. The Photo below shows a classic example of Advanced Glycation and? Solar Elastosis in Ageing.
