The relationship between skin aging and steady state ultraweak photon emission as an indicator of skin oxidative stress in vivo

Background/purpose Ultraweak photon emission (UPE) is one potential method to evaluate the oxidative status of the skin in vivo. However, little is known about how the daily oxidative stress of the skin is related to skin aging-related alterations in vivo. We characterized the steady state UPE and performed a skin survey. Methods We evaluated the skin oxidative status by UPE, skin elasticity, epidermal thickness and skin color on the inner upper arm, the outer forearm, and the buttock of 70 Japanese volunteers. Results The steady state UPE at the three skin sites increased with age. Correlation analysis revealed that the steady state UPE only from the buttock was related to skin elasticity, which showed age-dependent changes. Moreover, analysis by age group indicated that b* values of the inner upper arm of subjects in their 20s were inversely correlated with UPE as occurred in buttock skin. In contrast, photoaged skin did not show a clear relationship with steady state UPE because the accumulation of sun-exposure might influence the sensitivity to oxidative stress. Conclusion These results suggest that steady state UPE reflects not only intrinsic skin aging and cutaneous color but also the current oxidative status independent of skin aging.