Age dependence of skin autofluorescence

The nontryptophane intrinsic fluorescence of finger pad skin was studied in men aged 20–70 years in order to evaluate the possibility of using this parameter as a biomarker of aging. Linear correlation coefficients (r) between the fluorescence intensity and age varied from 0.50 to 0.66 for various skin sites. Age dependence of the mean value of fluorescence (F) measured on 4 fingers can be approximated by a second-degree polynomial:F=2.82−0.083T+0.0014T ² (r ₁=0.64,r ₂=0.71), whereT is chronological age in years. The proposed measurement of skin autofluorescence is a simple, noninvasive, rapid test for evaluating the aging of the skin in subjects over 40 with a high age-related determination (r ²=0.5). Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 127, No. 3, pp. 351–353, March, 1999