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By Suzanne Rostler
NEW YORK, Mar 23 (Reuters Health) - Distinct lines around the mouth and a dull pallor of the skin often identify long-term smokers in a crowd. Now a study reveals exactly how smoking causes skin to age.
According to researchers, tobacco smoke increased levels of a skin protein called matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1). This protein causes the degradation of collagen, a compound that keeps skin firm and elastic.
Short of plastic surgery, there is no way to reverse the damage.
"Disruption of collagen balance is like a scar," Dr. Antony R. Young, a study author from King's College in London, UK, told Reuters Health.
The study in the March 24th issue of The Lancet found significantly more MMP-1 genetic material in the buttock skin of 14 smokers compared with 19 nonsmokers with an average age of 30 years.
Young said the study originally sought to investigate the effect of artificial sunlight on MMP-1 and the findings about smoking were by chance. Ultraviolet light can also increase MMP-1 levels. The researchers looked at buttock skin because that was the area least likely to be affected by sunlight, Young explained.
"I hope that our observations will encourage further study on the ageing effects of smoking, including interaction with sun," he said.
SOURCE: The Lancet 2001;357:935-936.
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