Perricone acknowledges some discomfort in how StimulCell is marketed -- it claims to replicate "signals delivered by skin stem cells" -- noting that the product does not contain actual stem cells.
"I like to refer to them as precursor cells," he says. "They act as messengers in the skin. They send signals to surrounding cells to bring about whatever change is needed. . . . Everyone is moving in this direction."
--
Claims overtake science
Science is still a long way from stem cells-in-a-jar.
Currently, the most effective products have ingredients such as retinols and glycolic acid that stress the skin and cause exfoliation. This process alone will "rev up" stem cell activity, causing the old skin to slough off, says Baumann, the author of "The Skin Type Solution" whose lab conducts clinical trials for about 45 skin-care companies.
Even companies that do not describe their products as stem cell technology are bottling cell-cultured substances intended to stimulate the skin's ability to rejuvenate itself.
The most well-known of these products is SkinMedica's TNS Recovery Complex, which is sold through doctors' offices and online. It contains growth factors that play a key role in wound healing, says Rahul C. Mehta, senior scientific director of Carlsbad, Calif.-based SkinMedica Inc.
In a randomized, controlled, double-blind study, researchers found that the product measurably improved skin texture. The study of 55 women was presented in February at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Another product, Neocutis' Bio-restorative Skin Cream, also sold through doctors' offices and online, contains a variety of growth factors and other substances secreted from cells. In a study of 37 women published last year in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, researchers found the product improved skin texture, sagging and wrinkles by averages ranging from 14% to 28%.
If these products work as described -- stimulating aging cells -- the question arises as to whether the products could also influence the growth of abnormal cells, such as precancerous lesions called actinic keratoses. Neocutis scientists are studying whether its product might increase precancerous growths but say so far there is no evidence that it does. Still, the company advises people with precancerous lesions not to use the product.
--
shari.roan@latimes.com
