Changes in the elastic tissue of the non-sun-exposed skin of cigarette smokers

FRANCÈS., C. ; BOISNIC, S. ; HARTMANN, D. J. ; DAUTZENBERG, B. ; BRANCHET, M. C. ; CHARPENTIER, Y. LE ; ROBERT, L.

Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Published 1991
ISSN:
1365-2133
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Biopsies were taken from the upper and inner arm of 10 60-year-old male cigarette smokers and compared with 10 age-matched controls who were non-smokers. The mean relative area, number and thickness of the elastic fibres were significantly increased in the cigarette smokers compared to the controls. These results were confirmed using antibodies to elastin or the microfibrillar component of elastic tissue. In the smokers the broader and more fragmented elastic fibres in the skin were not as intensely stained as those of the non-smokers and the ultrastructural alterations of the elastic fibres were similar to those in solar elastosis.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL: