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Aging of the skin is a composite of actinic damage, chronologic aging, and hormonal
influences. The majority of changes associated with aging, such as wrinkles and solar
lentigines (“liver spots”), are due to photoaging and reflect cumulative sun exposure
as well as skin pigmentation. Classically, chronologic aging includes those cutaneous
changes that occur in non-sun-exposed areas, such as the buttocks, and are observed
in both men and women. A clinical example would be soft tissue sagging due to elastic
fiber degeneration. In women, investigations into the effect of hormones on aging
of the skin have concentrated on estrogens; in men, there have been a limited number
of studies on the influence of testosterone. The latter have shown an age-dependent
decrease in tissue androgens in pubic skin, but not scrotal or thigh skin. To date,
age has not been shown to have an effect on androgen receptor binding, although a
decrease in foreskin 5α-reductase activity with increasing age has been described.
In fibroblast cultures from foreskins, there have been conflicting results as to whether
5α-reductase activity decreases in an age-dependent manner. Some of the skin changes
that have been categorized as secondary to chronologic aging, such as decreased sebaceous
gland activity and decreased hair growth, may actually represent a decline in the
concentration of tissue androgens with increasing age. The influence of androgens
on age-related changes in keratinocyte and fibroblast function remains speculative.
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© 1995 Published by Elsevier Inc.
