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Retinol on Human Skin Aging in East Asian Descent

Phase 4
Completed
Conditions
Intrinsic Aging of Skin
Interventions
Drug: Placebo
Registration Number
NCT02906566
Lead Sponsor
Stanford University
Brief Summary

There has been increasing evidence for different rates of natural aging in humans and one of the best organs to study human aging is skin. Studies have demonstrated anti-aging effects of topical agents (such as creams, gels, lotions, or ointments) and one of them, retinol or vitamin A, was shown to decrease fine wrinkling in skin of older individuals. Additionally, studies of retinol in humans have largely occurred in white populations and so this study aims to focus on skin aging in individuals of East Asian descent as they represent a majority of the world population. This study aims to better characterize the molecular basis of rejuvenation effects and to potentially discover new topical agents with similar and/or more effective preservation of skin youthfulness.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
110
Inclusion Criteria
  • able to provide written informed consent
  • older group: age between 50 and 75 years
  • young group: age 18 to 25 years
  • all four grandparents of Han Chinese, Japanese, Korean descent
  • body mass index within normal or overweight range
  • no history of weight loss of >20 lbs within past 5 years
Exclusion Criteria
  • skin condition in the areas of skin biopsy that would obscure results of analysis
  • topical creams or treatment to arms 2 weeks prior to study baseline visit
  • individuals with known hypersensitivity to retinoid class of agents (older group only)
  • prior anti-aging treatments to arms including retinol, microdermabrasion within 2 weeks of baseline visit
  • prior laser therapy or surgical procedure to arms
  • prior radiation or other trauma (extensive burns or abrasions) to arm skin
  • hormone-based therapy within 4 weeks of enrollment

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Older Group Ages 55-75PlaceboActive and Placebo. Participants received retinol lotion on one arm and placebo to match on the other arm.
Older Group Ages 55-75RetinolActive and Placebo. Participants received retinol lotion on one arm and placebo to match on the other arm.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Number of Genes Upregulated or Downregulated as Assessed by RNA Sequencing (Younger Group Versus Older Group as Baseline)Week 1

Differences in transcript levels are reported as the number of genes that were upregulated or downregulated in the Younger Group participant tissue samples, as compared to a baseline provided by tissue samples collected from the Older Group (prior to their treatment).

Number of Genes Upregulated or Downregulated as Assessed by RNA Sequencing (Older Group, Retinol Versus Placebo)Week 12

Differences in transcript levels are reported as the number that were upregulated or downregulated in the participant's retinol-treated arm versus their placebo-treated arm.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Count of Participants With Skin and Subcutaneous Adverse Events as a Measure of Type and Severity of Adverse EventsBaseline through week 12

Skin and subcutaneous adverse events were assessed for this outcome and documented and scored according to CTCAE version 4.03.

Severity of Arm Skin WrinklingBaseline; Week 12

Wrinkling was assessed by the investigator using a 10-point Likert scale (range 0 to 9, lower scores correspond to less wrinkling).

Elasticity on Arm SkinBaseline; week 12

Elasticity was assessed using cutometry (R2 curve) as millimeters per second

Transepidermal Water LossBaseline; Week 12

Transepidermal Water Loss of arm skin was measured in units of grams/hours/meters squared.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Stanford Dermatology

🇺🇸

Redwood City, California, United States

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