Interview with Nicholas Perricone, MD on aging skin and ALA - alpha lipoic acid - Interview

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Feb-March, 2002 by Lily G. Casura

Casura: What concentration of ALA should people look for in topical applications?

Perricone: My OTC product contains 1%; and then I have one that's available through doctors that's 5%.

Casura: What's your personal theory on aging skin, at this time?

Perricone: We know that collagen is constantly being "remodeled" all the time in our skin. However, when AT1 is activated by, say, UV radiation from the sun, it transcribes for things called metalloproteinases. There are about 13 metalloproteinases that we've identified so far. Even small amounts of exposure to the sun causes AT1 to be activated; and AT1 produces these metalloproteinases, which break down the collagen and cause microscarring. This microscarring eventually accumulates to macroscarring and that's what may cause wrinkles.

The interesting thing about AT1 is that it's actually turned on two different ways: by free radicals (such as sunlight); but it's also turned on when it's in the presence of a very powerful reducing agent (or antioxidant). Now I've discovered, by pure accident, in doing my studies on facial lines, that scars would tend to resolve with lipoic acid. And it made sense to me that if I were turning on AT1, there would have to be some metalloproteinases that were present in the skin that do "remodeling" of skin to deal with things like scar formation, and a few other things that go on...

So my theory is that ALA turns on AT1, and may direct metalloproteinases in a more physiologic manner, to help remodel collagen where there's been some scarring and damage; and it may also help remodel collagen where there has been some microscarring, and help repair that; so that's why it improves facial lines.

RELATED ARTICLE: Rescuing Wrinkles with Alpha-Lipoic Acid

What's so special about an ingredient one medical dictionary defines as "a bacterial growth factor found in liver and yeast"? It turns out that alpha-lipoic acid, also known as lipoic acid or ALA for short, may benefit aging skin in several key ways.

Alpha-lipoic acid, also known as thioctic acid, hasn't been well-known until recently as an over-the-counter supplement, but it has been the subject of quite a bit of research. Today, however, it's being looked to as a possible super-molecule that may help inhibit aging and restore skin damage from the sun, environment, and advancing years, even scars. Known as a universal anti-oxidant because it is soluble in both fat and water, ALA is rapidly showing promise as a potential ageing-fighter in humans, both as a nutritional and a topic antioxidant.

According to a recent article by David Wolfson, ND, lipoic acid was first discovered in the 1950s; then, a decade later, research emphasis switched from physiological interest to potential therapeutic applications. With German scientists leading the way in studying the supplement, applications have been found as varied as protection from atherosclerosis, macular degeneration, cataracts, and the dangers of irradiation, as well as usefulness in HIV and diabetes therapies, including diabetic neuropathy.