2002 ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC MEETING 107 Figure I •o ß o Figure 2. Effect of Topical Auxin on Histamine- Induced Elevated Skin Moisture ] ß . 20 0 O eo 120 Post-Occlusion AlrEx suro(m In) Figure 3A. Eftact mm n • u • rowth Figure 3B. Effect of Tasselin on Histamine4nduced Skin Moisture of Intact Skin under 24h-Occlusion • v•h . s p•st-Occlusi•n (rain) • • [1] A.Kydonieus and J. Wiile in:Biochemical Modulation of Skin Reactions, pp. 205-217, 2000. A. Kydonieus and J. Wille, eds. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. [2] K. MockaRis and S. Howell. The Plant Journal, 24:785-796, 2001 [3] K. Miean and S. Mohamed. J. ,4gricult. & Food Chem., 49:3105-3112, 2001 [4] S. Gupta. Happi 38(7): 56-61, 2001. [5]. U. Wenzel et al. J Pharm. & Exptl. Therapeut. 299:351-357, 2001. [6] J. Wiile et al. Skin Pharm. & Skin PhysJol., 13:65-74, 2000.

108 JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE TtlE VEXING PROBLEM OF DRY SKIN Amy Zimmerman, Albert Kligman, Ph.D., and Fleming Anderson, Ph.D. Access Business Group, Ada, MI We all know what dry skin is ... don't we? Xerosis, "winter itch", rough, dry, cracked, scaly, itchy, frown lines of the forehead, laugh lines around the comers of the eyes, purse strings around the mouth. This common and annoying condition is caused quite simply when the skin cannot retain water. One of the most common symptoms of dry skin is itching or puritus, an unpleasant sensation that elicits a compelling desire to scratch. But WHY is dryness so common when we humans are almost 70% water? Why are young people as well as the elderly plagued with this problem? A comprehensive clinical evaluation to study the underlying causes and condition of dry skin was investigated, including the effects of both chronological and photoaging on xerotic skin. This study evaluated three distinctly different populations young, normal skin individuals ages 25-45, young xerotics and elderly xerotics ages 65 - 80 +. Clinical evaluations included visual grading, vascular responsiveness, susceptibility to chemical irritants, skin luminance, skin color, stratum comeum thickness, hydration, dansyl chloride extinction and photography. Visual grading was combined with a questionnaire, end evaluated scaling, roughness, visual dryness, and itching of the lower legs. The elderly had the worst scores for all measured parameters but most especially for itching. Vascular responsiveness was measured using methyl nicotinate (0.5%) and Laser Doppler. This provided an indication of the responsiveness of the microvasaculature and an indirect estimate of barrier function. The elderly showed a marked decline in Laser Doppler, while the young xerotic and normal were quite similar. Erythema induced as a asc u lar R esp o n siv en ess Laser Doppler Scan 450 400 350 300 •'= .... • 200 iso 10o 5 0 '• .... 0 "• B a selin e Young, Baseline Young, Baseline Elderly, Norm al X erosis X erosis result of the methyl nicotinate was most pronounced in the young xerotics. The xerotic elderly showed almost no response at all. Susceptibility to chemical irritation was measured several ways 24 hour patch tests with SLS and DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide), clinical grading, TEWL, Comeometer, and Novameter. The results showed an overall reduction in reactivity to irritants and a decrease in TEWL with increasing age.