JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS 382 (9) Suntzeff, V., and Carruthers, C., "The Mineral Composition of Human Epidermis," 7. Biol. Chem., 160, 567 (1945). (10) Cowdry, E. V., Carruthers, C., and Suntzeff, V., "Influence of Age on the Copper and Zinc Content in the Epidermis of Mice Undergoing Carcinogenesis with Methylcholan- threne and a Note on the Role of Calcium," 7. Nat. CancerInst., 8, 209 (1948). (11) McCardle, R. C., Engman, M. F., Jr., and Engman, M. F., Sr., "Mineral Changes in Neurodermatitis, Revealed by Microincineration," drch. Dermatol. $yphiloL, 47, 335 (1943). (12) Ma, C. K., and Cowdry, E. V., "Aging of Elastic Tissue in Human Skin," •7. Gerontol., 5, 203 (1950). (13) B/irger, M., and Schlomka, G., "Beitr/ige zur physiologischen Chemie des Alterns der Gewebe. IV. Untersuchungen an der menschlichen Haut," Z. exp. Med., 615, 105 (1928). (14) Nathan, E., and Stern, F., "Ueber den Mineralgehalt der Haut unter normalen und pathologischen Verh//ltnissen," Dermatol. Z., 515, 451 (1928). (15) Urbach, E., "Beitr/ige zu einer physiologischen und pathologischen Chemie der Haut. II. Mitteilung. Der Wasset-, Kochsalz-, Reststickstoff- und Fettgehalt der Haut in der Norm und unter pathologischen Verh/iltnissen," drch. Dermatol. u. Syphilis, 156, 73 (1928). (16) Tunbridge, R. E., Tattersall, R. N., Hall, D. A., Astbury, W. T., and Reed, R., "The Fibrous Structure of Normal and Abnormal Human Skin," Clin. Sci., 11, 315 (1952). (17) Weidman, F. D., "The Pathology of the Yellowing Dermatoses. I. Non-xanthomatous Jaundice, Carotinemia, Blood Pigmentation, Melanin, Colloid Degeneration and Elastic Degeneration," drch. Dermatol. Syphilol., 24, 954 (1931). (18) Montgomery, P. O., "A Characterization of Basophilic Degeneration of Collagen by Histochemical and Microspectroscopic Procedures," •7. Investigative Dermatol., 24, 107 (1955). (19) Dick, J. C., "Observation on the Elastic Tissue of the Skin with a Note on the Reticular Layer at the Junction of the Dermis and Epidermis," 7- Anat., 8i, 201 (1947). (20) Herrmann, F., "Ueber die Wasserbindung in der Haut," Z. ges. exp. Med., 76, 780 (1931). SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SKIN GERIATRICS* By EI)WARD H•.NI)•.RSO•, M.D. Schering Corporation, Bloomfield, N. 2 •. FoR SOMe YEARS past it has been evident that the control of many diseases of youth has been leading progressively to a greater population in what is termed the older age group. It is true that a great many more people reach the age of sixty today than ever before at this point our progress has all but come to a standstill. Life insurance statistics show that the life expectancy for a man of sixty is but a trifle greater now than it was 100 years ago. In these circumstances there can be found both a problem and an extraordinary opportunity. The problem is the greater prevalence of ills peculiar to older people. The op- portunity is that of prolonging useful life far beyond the Biblical prediction of "three score and ten years." The management of specific diseases affect- ing the aged has long been under study within the several provinces of in- * Presented at the May 13, 1955, Meeting, New York City.

SOCIAl. AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SKIN GERIATRICS 383 ternal medicine, but these excellent workers have not been concerned pri- marily with investigations into aging as such. Contrarywise, studies of specific diseases and what to do about them have distracted investigators from the central problem of the physiology of the aging process. Doubt- less as people succeed in growing older and there is a better understanding of cancer, arteriosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases, there will be fewer untimely deaths from these specific causes. But what is timely death? Is there any such thing as a timely death? I daresay there is not! What is the fundamental nature of growing old ? Is it correct to say of a man nearing the century mark that he might die simply of old age? No, the medical examiner would not permit you to sign the death certificate in that way. Death is always due to some specific cause or.causes. A little more than a hundred years ago, in 1850, life expectancy at birth was thirty-nine years. In 1950, a hundred years later, it was sixty-nine years. These are in round figures. Thus you see we have gained a total of thirty years of life from birth in this one hundred years. But, now mark this--in 1850--having reached the age of sixty, life expectancy was 16.3 years. In 1950, having reached the age of sixty, life expectancy is 17.3 years. So you see there is a very great misunderstanding about this whole business of the older age group. We have millions more people today who reach the age of sixty, but having reached the age of sixty we do not live any longer than we did one hundred years ago--or very little so the differ- ence here is only one year. This points up the tremendous problem of what to do about this whole business of aging. We have not yet had a clear understanding of the physi- ology of the aging of the skin and what to do about it. I think Dr. Andrew will say something about that in his discussion on the histology of the aging skin. But the fundamental problem is the physiology of the aging cell, and you have to get down 'to the cellular phase before you can understand the body as a whole. Last fall in New York City we gave a graduate symposium on geriatric medicine. I asked an old and dear friend of mine who is professor of physi- ology at one of our leading medical schools if he would not talk to us on the physiology of the aging cell. He looked at me for a minute and said, "I would like to, but I don't know anything about it." So little has been done in basic science in the effort to understand something about the physiology of the aging cell that we were not able to have a paper on that subject. All of this, of course, leads to the question of what are we going to do in the future. Well, much is being done and a great deal more will be done. We have very carefully studied, for example, the tissue sections at post- mortem of patients of various ages, and we are learning something about what is going on but, more particularly, what we want to do is be able to measure these changes. There is, I think, a pretty general misunderstand-