Extra Wrinkles a Bad Sign for Smokers

http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2006/06/14/hscout533241.html

Extra Wrinkles a Bad Sign for Smokers

WEDNESDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) -- British scientists have
discovered a tantalizing new wrinkle in our understanding of smoking's
unhealthy effects.

Middle-aged smokers whose faces were heavily wrinkled were five times
as likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than
smokers whose faces were relatively smooth, the study found.

The authors speculated that both COPD and wrinkling may be linked by a
common mechanism and that facial wrinkling might indicate
susceptibility to the potentially deadly lung disease.

It's unclear, however, what kind of clinical relevance the findings
hold.

"It's certainly biologically plausible," said Dr. Norman Edelman, chief
medical officer for the American Lung Association. "This may be of use
in educating patients but, in terms of detection of lung disease, we
[already] have a simple breathing test. We don't have to look for
wrinkles."

The research appears in the June 14 online edition of Thorax, which is
published by the British Medical Journal.

COPD refers to a group of progressive chronic lung diseases, including
emphysema and bronchitis, that block the airways and restrict oxygen
flow.

Some 13.5 million Americans suffer from COPD, and the World Health
Organization predicts that the condition will become the third leading
cause of death worldwide by 2020.

Smoking is the biggest risk factor for COPD, and dermatologist have
long noted that smoking causes premature aging of the skin.

However, not all smokers go on to develop COPD. "Obviously, people vary
in their response to what's in the smoke," Edelman said.

In the study, the team wanted to see if genetic factors that predispose
smokers to COPD might also predispose them to wrinkles.

The researchers, based at Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust,
analyzed data on 149 current and former middle-aged smokers, 68 of whom
(45.6 percent) had COPD. The participants came from 78 families.

Eighty-three percent had no facial wrinkling or only minor lines, but
close to 17 percent had considerable wrinkling.

Lung strength and function, measured in all participants, turned out to
be significantly lower in those with extensive wrinkling than in those
with smoother faces.

People with heavy wrinkles were also five times more likely to have
COPD than those without wrinkles. People with facial wrinkling also had
triple the risk of suffering from more severe emphysema.

The authors theorized that smoking-linked changes in cells' collagen
and elastin may be important for the development of both lung disease
and wrinkles.

The findings are more likely to be helpful in spurring new research
than in providing any direct benefit to patients, Edelman said.

"I think this will be of use to basic biologists," he explained. "Maybe
you can start doing experiments on the skin, maybe that's an easier
model to use than the lung to figure out what the mechanisms are."

***********

http://www.highbeam.com/library/docfree.asp?DOCID=1G1:10911043&ctrlInfo=Round20%3AMode20d%3ADocG%3AResult&ao=

Cigarette smoking seems to deplete vitamin C levels in the blood.
Realizing this, the National Research Council in 1989 revised smokers'
recommended daily allowance (RDA) for vitamin C, raisinsg it from 60
milligrams--the RDA for the general population--to 100 mg. But a new
study suggests the revised RDA for this vitamin still falls far short
of providing smokers the same benefits that non-smokers get from the
general RDA.


******

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is essential for collagen formation and helps
maintain the integrity of substances of mesenchymal origin, such as
connective tissue, osteoid tissue, and dentin. It is essential for
wound healing and facilitates recovery from burns. This vitamin is a
strong reducing agent and is reversibly oxidized and reduced in the
body, functioning as a redox system in the cell. It is involved in the
metabolism of phenylalanine and tyrosine. As a reductant (with oxygen,
ferrous iron, and a 2-ketoacid), vitamin C activates enzymes that
hydroxylate procollagen proline and lysine to procollagen
hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine. In scorbutic animals, elastin becomes
increasingly deficient in hydroxyproline.

****

Elastin, is a protein in connective tissue that is elastic and allows
many tissues in the body to resume their shape after stretching or
contracting. Elastin helps skin to return to its original position when
it is poked or pinched. It is primarily composed of the amino acids
glycine, valine, alanine and proline. Elastin is made by linking many
soluble tropoelastin protein molecules, in a reaction catalyzed by
lysyl oxidase, to make a massive insoluble, durable cross-linked array.
Elastin is particularly abundant in large elastic blood vessels such as
the aorta. Muscles do not use elastin for their mechanical function.
Elastin is particularly important in arteries, lung, elastic ligaments,
skin, bladder, and elastic cartilage.

*********

Of course, cigarettes cause such problems. They deplete vitamin c which
is of key importance for the integrity of all cells in the body
including the lungs.

TC

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Relevant Pages

  • Smoking and Wrinkles
    ... It talks about wrinkles and skin in general. ... up from smoking, probably because of a lack of blood flow to the skin. ... One study of smokers and wrinkling, based on photographic portrays, ...
    (alt.support.stop-smoking)
  • Treating Wrinkles
    ... have any idea about what actually causes these dreaded wrinkles? ... As we age, our body undergoes various changes, and so does our skin. ... we have tissues known as collagen and elastin. ... One less painful procedure is the particle skin resurfacing procedure. ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
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