Want to Cut Your Risk of Dementia? Moisturize Your Skin, UCSF Researchers Say

A study from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology found age-damaged skin in older adults may be contributing to Alzheimer's and other conditions, reports the Sacramento Bee . The researchers noted as skin gets older, the body's immune system dispatches proteins called cytokines to signal inflammation in damaged areas of the skin. When enough of these proteins leak into the body's circulation system, they induce body-wide inflammation, which can also trigger "inflamm-aging" among older adults. "Once we get old, we have dermatological symptoms like itchiness, dryness, and changes in acidity," said UCSF's Mao-Qiang Man. "It could be that the skin has very minor inflammation, and because it's such a large organ, it elevates circulating cytokine levels." The team had seniors apply a specific amount of skin cream twice a day for 30 days, and they observed dramatic reductions in three cytokines — interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor — associated with age-related chronic diseases. Cytokine levels among skin cream users declined nearly to the level of people in their 30s, while participants also reduced their skin's acidity, enhanced hydration, and repaired permeability.