It’s the billion dollar question that every beauty brand is after: how can we prevent, and reverse, the signs of ageing?
And while plenty of companies claim to have the cure for wrinkles, scientists not think they’re legitimately one step closer to the truth.
According to research involving mice, the key to getting rid of wrinkles could lie in the relationship between our hair follicles and fat cells.
Researchers from several universities across Europe and America were interested in the fact that mice could turn scar tissue into fat cells (adipocytes), whereas humans seem unable to do so.
By studying mice who were injured, scientists found that as they heal they produce new hair follicles. This in turn triggers the production of bone morphogenic protein (BMP), which causes injured tissue to be “reprogrammed” as fat cells.
Are we one step closer to a wrinkle cure?
In addition to injuries, the normal ageing process in humans also results in the gradual loss of these fat cells – which leads to wrinkling.
Researchers are hopeful that this study can be used to treat scar tissue in humans, and the beauty industry will likely use it to reverse the signs of ageing, too.
However, any findings found from a study on animals has obvious drawbacks when applied to humans. And while the scientific community are hopeful that this may help us understand scar tissue and treatments further, a great deal more study is required before these findings could be applied in the real world.
You can read the NHS analysis of the study here for more.
