Laser Resurfacing of Photoaged Skin Reduces p53 Levels

Laser Resurfacing of Photoaged Skin Reduces p53 Levels
June 18, 2007
HealthDay News

Abstract

Laser resurfacing of photoaged human skin causes a significant reduction in the levels of tumor suppressor p53 as measured by histology, according to study findings published in the June issue of Dermatologic Surgery.

Moetaz M. El-Domyati, M.D., D.S., Ph.D., of Al-Minya University in Cairo, Egypt, and colleagues evaluated the effectiveness of CO2 and Er:YAG laser resurfacing on epidermal thickness and p53 expression in photoaged human skin. Five patients were treated with each laser type and six specimens were obtained from age-matched controls.

The investigators found that both CO2 and Er:YAG laser resurfacing caused a significant reduction in p53 levels by three months that increased slightly again at one year, as measured by a previously published histological scoring method. Epidermal thickness was greater after laser treatment, increasing from an average 54 microns at baseline to 82 microns at one year in the Er:YAG treated group.

"The decrease in epidermal p53 expression after CO2 and Er:YAG lasers may account for some of the benefits of resurfacing on the epidermis, as well as prevention of actinic neoplasia by adjusting any disturbance in the proliferation/apoptosis balance observed in photoaged facial skin," the authors write.

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