Prometheus 6

Scientists weigh in on skin creams and their claims of harnessing the power of stem cells
Skin creams tout stem cells' restorative powers. But the science isn't there yet.
By Shari Roan
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 21, 2008 

"Restore and renew." "Significantly reduces the loss of cells in the epidermis." "Regenerate cells and repair tissue."

The newest skin creams beckon with an air of scientific gravitas, holding out the hope that now, at last, medicine has triumphed over the visible aging process. With tantalizing biological references and understated packaging, the products are among the first on the market to capitalize on the public's insatiable appetite for stem cell technology.

"The goal of these products is to create a more youthful cell that would replenish elastin and collagen," says Dr. Kenneth Beer, a West Palm Beach, Fla., dermatologist. A clinical instructor at the University of Miami, he conducts clinical trials on skin-care products.

And, of course, what better way to do that than to harness stem cells, those potential miracles of self-repair and curative power on which society is pinning so many medical hopes?

But a word of caution before you plunk down $80 or $155 for these potions: They may be no better than existing anti-aging skin creams, the best of which spur the skin to work harder but still produce only modest effects. Adds Beer of the stem cell-touting products' potential: "The notion that you could do that with a cream is a little bit ahead of itself. It's a great piece of marketing because there is so much interest in stem cells."

That's not to say that stem cells couldn't ultimately improve skin, perhaps in the next decade or so, says Dr. Leslie Baumann, a dermatology professor and director of the University of Miami's Cosmetic Center. But that time has not arrived, she says.

For now, she adds, consumers are being misled.

In fact, the creams don't even contain live stem cells -- just the suggestion that they're comparable in some way to the much-heralded, but largely unharnessed, cellular powerhouses.