Photoaging Miniatlas

The skin is the largest organ of the body, which it covers completely in order to protect the organs and the muscle compartment. This particular situation allows it to act as a barrier and, in addition, as the interface between the external environment and the internal medium of organs and systems, with all the possible consequences of this interaction. On the one hand, the skin reflects many alterations of the internal environment and, on the other, it suffers damage caused by the surrounding external environment. Photoaging is one of the results of this damage of external origin. Defined as a premature deterioration of the skin caused by prolonged exposure to sunlight, this form of aging of the skin involves a complex sequence of molecular responses that develop when the skin is exposed to the sun over long periods. The phenomenon of photoaging occurs in addition to chronological aging of the skin; however, it has its own, specific characteristics that differentiate it from chronological aging and, above all, it is preventable. It is therefore particularly important to know the mechanisms that cause photoinduced damage, and the possible methods for preventing, attenuating, or reversing this condition.