Vascular function in the facial skin circulation is significantly correlated with age

Abstract

No previous study investigated whether the condition in facial skin vessels change with age, though it is well known that conditions in facial skin, i.e., the elastic property, thickness, and echogenicity, decrease with age (Takema et al. 1994; Pellacani and Seidenari 1999). Vessels are important organs to supply nutrition and oxygen to cells, and thus may keep skin cells function properly. Previous studies reported the age‐related decline in the vascular function (Celermajer et al. 1994; Seals et al. 2008). The age‐related decline in the facial vascular function is expected but no previous study demonstrated that. In fact, the method for evaluation of the vascular function in the facial skin circulation has not been established. Laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) can assess blood flow in superficial tissues non‐invasively. The blowout time (BOT) calculated from the pulse‐wave analysis of ocular blood flow velocity is an index of vascular flexibility. Previous studies reported that the BOT in ocular circulation is negatively related to age (Shiba et al. 2011; Miyaji et al. 2016). It has not been investigated whether the BOT in skin circulation also be related to age. Thus the objective of this study was to investigate whether the BOT in facial skin is related to age. We assessed the BOT in whole face, eyelid, cheek, nose, upper lip, and lower lip in 29 young (17 ± 4 years, range 11 to 27 years of age), and 15 middle and old subjects (54 ± 11 years, range 39 to 77 years of age) by using LSFG. BOTs in whole face, cheek, and upper lip was significantly greater in young group than middle and old group (whole face: 68 ± 2 vs. 62 ± 2; cheek: 67 ± 2 vs. 58 ± 3; upper lip: 61 ± 2 vs. 52 ± 2, P<0.05). The BOT in whole face, eyelid, cheek, and upper lip were related to age of all subjects negatively (whole face: r=−0.34; eyelid: r=−0.30; cheek: r=−0.34; upper lip: r=−0.41, P<0.05, respectively). This relationship was observed solely in females (n=27, whole face: r=−0.45; eyelid: r=−0.44; cheek: r=−0.56; upper lip: r=−0.46, P<0.05, respectively). The BOT in nose and lower lip did not change with age. These results suggested an age‐related change in facial vascular function and regional difference in the age‐related change.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.