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Impact of defensins-containing body cream on skin composition.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Defensins are peptides capable of reactivating latent LGR6 stem cells in the basal layer. When applied topically, these peptides can reduce signs of skin aging and increase dermal thickness. This study investigates the effects of a topical defensin formulation on extremity skin composition.


METHODS
An open label single arm clinical trial was conducted on participants with dry, photoaged, or dull skin. Defenage 10 Luxe Hand and Body Cream was applied twice daily for six weeks to the hands, forearms, elbows, and knees. Photographs and objective measurements of skin hydration, viscoelasticity (VE), retraction time (RT), thickness, density and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and self-evaluation of skin quality and characteristics were obtained pre- and post- intervention.


RESULTS
After the study period, RT decreased by 56% across all body sites (P <0.001) and VE improved at the elbow (125%, P =0.009) and knee (110%, P <0.001). Skin density also increased in all 4 body sites (40%, P <0.001), while skin thickness increased at the elbow (29%, P = 0.03) and knee (17%, P =0.04). Skin hydration increased at the elbow, knee, and forearm by 99%, 28% and 16%, respectively (P <0.05), while TEWL improved at the elbow only (-39%, P =0.02). Patients' self-evaluations showed improvements in overall skin quality and in the domains of dryness, ashiness, wrinkling, pigmentation, redness, roughness, and discomfort (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Following 6-week use of a defensin-containing cream, subjects reported significant improvement across many subjective skin domains. Similarly, objective measurements demonstrated significant improvement in skin architecture at select sites.