The flexibility of skin, and other elastic tissue such as blood vessel walls, depends upon the structural arrangement of elastin in the extracellular matrix. Elastin is largely laid down during the developmental period of life, and not much repaired thereafter. Disruption of this structure is progressive over time, and is a major contribution to the changing physical properties and appearance of aging skin. The effects on blood vessels and other internal tissues are more important: loss of elasticity in blood vessels cascades to cause a great deal of downstream damage and dysfunction via its effects on blood pressure, on development of athe…
Disruption of Elastin in the Aging Skin, and the Little that Can Presently Be Done About It
The flexibility of skin, and other elastic tissue such as blood vessel walls, depends upon the structural arrangement of elastin in the extracellular matrix. Elastin is largely laid down during the developmental period of life, and not much repaired thereafter. Disruption of this structure is progressive over time, and is a major contribution to the changing physical properties and appearance of aging skin. The effects on blood vessels and other internal tissues are more important: loss of elasticity in blood vessels cascades to cause a great deal of downstream damage and dysfunction via its effects on blood pressure, on development of athe…