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Collagenoson®: Checks your skin quality, uncovers the efficacy of your collagen supplements intake, helps to determine if they are worth the money…
The collagenoson as a tool to measure skin quality and thickness and collagen content of dermis
In our dermis, fibroblasts are active in producing new collagen and elastin. This to renew this part of the skin at a constant basis. The same happens in our joints, to renew cartilage, and in our bones. 25% of our bones consists out of collagen type 1, identical as the collagen in the papillary layer of the dermis, see studies below. There is a direct relation between the amount of collagen in bone and in skin. If skin thickness appears to be thinner (with age), it may predict possible loss of bone mass. This, since bone minerals need a network of collagen prior to attach their minerals by the osteoblasts. The major growth factors for collagen are identical to those for bone mass; IGF-1 and Estrogens or Testosterone.
Collagen quality and quantity in skin and bone can be improved by the right growth factors and by adding a collagen supplement containing high absorbable collagen peptides to the diet. This could be either SkinPro® or SkinMatrix®. The improvement of the dermis can be measured by the Collagenoson® and will be visible in about 2 to 4 months, depending on the state of bone quality. If bone is short in collagen, the collagen peptides will first migrate to the fibroblast in the bone to improve bone strength first. The Collagenoson® scans with an ultrahigh frequency, 22 Mhz, showing very accurate images up to 10 mm deep into the skin, to clearly see improvements after treatment.
Left scan before treatment, right scan after 3 months with SkinMatrix® and PhytoMatrix®
Left scan before treatment, right scan after 2 months with SkinPro®.
The left yellow "line" shows the epidermis, the other yellow points in scan show the collagen matrix. After the second thick yellow "line" starts the hypodermis. This second visible layer is the Reticular layer of the collagen. This layer is more like a thin sheet of collagen, responsible for the strength of the skin. Improvements in this layer, mainly collagen type 3, although relatively thin, can be perfectly seen with the highly accurate Collagenoson®. In this way treatments can be judged in their effectiveness.
Also the quality and density of the epidermis can be measured. Improvement by dietary ceramides and squalene show significant more thickness and protection from the environment. It can improve hydration of the skin with over 300%, incomparable with any type of topical application.
The Collagenoson® can also be used to scan the quality of the arteries to show deposits but also elasticity of the arterial walls, since they are very rich in elastin. If excessive calcification takes place, the artery will loose elasticity which can clearly be seen in the scan.
Treatment with OmegaMatrix® and PhytoMatrix® (containing vitamins K2 and D3) can reverse atherosclerotic plaques and rejuvenate our cardiovascular system. It will take some time but it is much safer than using blood tinning medication such as Warfarin, which may cause an even faster calcification of the arteries. Your arteries are the life lines through our body. they need to be in the best possible state. A check up with the Collagenoson is painless, non invasive, cheap and gives a good impression of the current state of cardiovascular health.
Evaluation of osteoporosis using skin thickness measurements.
Patel R, Blake GM, Fogelman I. Calcif Tissue Int. 2007 Dec;81(6):442-9. Epub 2007 Nov
Department of Biosurgery and Surgical Technology, Division of Surgery, Oncology, Reproductive Biology, and Anaesthethetics, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, Charing Cross Campus, Fulham Palace Road, London, W6 8RF, UK. r.patel@imperial.ac.uk
Measurement of skin thickness has been proposed as a method of predicting low bone mineral density (BMD) and the consequent risk of osteoporotic fracture in postmenopausal women. This device is a new type of ultrasound device (Collagenoson®) that uses high-frequency (22 MHz) ultrasound to measure skin thickness using a small probe placed on the skin. The aims of this study were to investigate whether there is any correlation between skin thickness as measured by ultrasound and BMD as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, to establish whether patients with osteoporotic fractures have reduced skin thickness, and to investigate the relationship between skin thickness and clinical risk factors for osteoporosis.
Short-term precision based on duplicate measurements on 132 patients gave a coefficient of variation of 3.2%. Small but statistically significant correlations between skin thickness measurements and BMD measurements at axial and peripheral sites were observed (r = 0.21-0.29, P < 0.0001). An odds ratio of 1.42 was found for identifying patients with a prevalent fracture at any skeletal site, suggesting that skin thickness measurements can discriminate patients with fractures. ROC analyses also demonstrated the ability of skin thickness measurements to discriminate fracture patients from controls. When measured by the decrease in Z-score, clinical risk factors for low BMD were found to affect skin thickness measurements to a similar extent as spine and hip BMD measurements.
The predictive value of skin thickness in the diagnosis of osteopenia.
Limpaphayom K, Panyakhamlerd K, Taechakraichana N, Kukulprasong A, Chotnopparatpattara P, Chaikittisilpa S. J Med Assoc Thai. 1999 Apr;82(4):347-51.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Skin and bone share a similar organic constituent (type I collagen) which decreases with time after menopause due to hypoestrogenism. The interdependence of skin and bone atrophy has been reported. This study was conducted to assess the predictive value of an ultrasonographic measurement of skin thickness in the diagnosis of osteopenia (BMD below -1.5 SD.) in perimenopausal and early postmenopausal women. All patients had skin thickness measured by the same radiologist and had a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan of the lumbar spine and the femoral neck. Of the 77 women studied, the mean age was 50.9 +/- 3.0 years. Thirty patients were in perimenopause and 47 in early postmenopause. Mean skin thickness was 2.1 +/- 0.4 mm. Women with a skin thickness of < or = 1.7 mm carried a higher risk for developing osteopenia at the lumbar spine (odds ratio 8.41, 95% confidence interval 2.19-32.35) and the femoral neck (odds ratio 3.88, 95% CI 1.14-13.17). Patients with a skin thickness of > or = 2.4 mm had a lower probability of osteopenia at the lumbar spines (odds ratio 0.17, 95% CI 0.035-0.845) and the femoral neck (odds ratio 0.22, 95% CI 0.055-0.899). In conclusion, a low skin thickness measurement by ultrasonography may be used as an indicator for osteopenia in perimenopausal and early postmenopausal women.
Validation of a mechanical method for measuring skin thickness: relation to age, body mass index, skin thickness determined by ultrasound, and bone mineral density.
Kann P, Zawalski R, Piepkorn B, Schehler B, Beyer J. Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 1995;103(2):113-8.
III. Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany.
In a number of endocrine disorders, typical changes in skin thickness can be observed which make measurement of skin thickness interesting in this field. A newly developed mechanical method for measuring skin thickness is presented. Using a digital measuring screw on the dorsum of the hand with a defined measuring force of 10 newton and a resulting tissue compression of 1500 mm Hg, highly reproducible results were obtained (mean coefficient of variation 2.56%). In 129 women, 37 to 78 years old, body mass index < 30 kg/m2, there was no significant relation between body mass index and skin fold thickness. A negative correlation between skin fold thickness and age was detected.
This has been shown for skin by other methods previously and is well known to occur in bone, another tissue whose matrix as well as dermis consists mainly of collagen type I. In 30 subjects, half hypopituitary patients, half healthy subjects (17 women, 13 men; 43.3 +/- 10.5 years old), skin fold thickness measured mechanically and sonographically determined skin thickness correlated with r = 0.46 (p < 0.01). A significant correlation between bone mineral density measured by single photon-absorptiometry at the ultradistal forearm and skin fold thickness measured mechanically was found and skin fold thickness measured mechanically was found (r = 0.36, p < 0.05), whereas this was not the case for sonographically determined skin thickness and bone mineral density (r = 0.13, n.s.). This newly developed method might be useful in clinical studies on endocrine disorders affecting skin (and bone) metabolism and the regulation of collagen type I metabolism in general.
Relationships between bone and skin atrophies during aging.
Chappard D, Alexandre C, Robert JM, Riffat G. Acta Anat (Basel). 1991;141(3):239-44.Laboratoire de Biologie du Tissu Osseux, Faculté de Médecine, Saint-Etienne, France.
Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured in 133 female subjects (age: 61.7 +/- 16.3 years) by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Vertebral bone mineral density (BMD; L1-L4) and BMD of the whole upper femoral extremity were taken into account. In addition, skinfold thickness was measured with a callipers on the dorsum of the nondominant hand. A significant negative correlation was found between skinfold thickness and age (r = -0.623, p less than 0.0001). Both vertebral and femoral BMD decreased with age and the slopes were similar to those observed by other authors. Skinfold thickness was significantly correlated with vertebral (r = 0.364, p less than 0.0001) and femoral BMD (r = 0.486, p less than 0.0001). Skin and bone are connective tissues whose extracellular matrix mainly contains type I collagen. It is postulated that age-related skin atrophy and bone atrophy have a common genetic mechanism. Skinfold thickness measurement may help in defining the women at risk for osteoporotic bone fractures who should be referred for a DEXA examination.
Current uses of diagnostic high-frequency US in dermatology.
Cammarota T, Pinto F, Magliaro A, Sarno A. Eur J Radiol. 1998 May;27 Suppl 2:S215-23.
Department of Radiology, Azienda Ospedaliera S. Giovanni Battista, Turin, Italy.
OBJECTIVE: The diagnosis of most skin diseases, both focal and diffuse, has long relied mainly on physical examination findings. The recent introduction of technologically advanced ultrasound equipment using 22 MHz probes has permitted the specific application of ultrasound to dermatology. Accordingly, we investigated whether the findings at very high frequencies can represent a valid adjunct to clinical assessment in many skin conditions, including neoplasms, inflammatory states and diseases of unknown origin.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Skin lesions are studied using high frequency probes, which very clearly detail the three layers (epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissues) forming the normal skin. The choice of the probes frequency should depend mainly on the lesion diameters and site. Electronic 7.5-13 MHz linear probes depict flat and regular surfaces effectively and provide a wider field of surface vision and, therefore, a wider view than sectorial probes. Water bath sectorial mechanical probes with 10-22 MHz frequency have very superficial focusing and are excellent to study irregular surfaces.
RESULTS: High frequency ultrasound can be usefully correlated with clinical tests to study focal skin lesions. The diagnosis of most benign skin cancers is usually made on clinical bases. Ultrasound examinations are performed preoperatively in questionable cases. Malignant neoplasms appear at ultrasound as hypoechoic focal lesions, generally with no specific features in relation to the histologic type; nevertheless, preoperative ultrasound may play an important role in that it measures the thickness of cutaneous melanoma, which is a very important prognostic factor. In particular, 22 MHz probes permit to assess the depth of melanoma invasion. The sonographic evaluation of melanoma thickness is usually in agreement with histologic findings. 'Satellite' neoplastic lesions growing near the main tumor can also be revealed. Color and power Doppler studies may be combined with gray-scale imaging: the identification of abnormal intra- or peritumoral low-resistance pulsatile flow signals suggests the malignant nature of the cutaneous lesion.
High frequency ultrasound can also be used to study diffuse cutaneous conditions. Among them, ultrasound can provide a valid morphologic representation of psoriatic skin lesions and it is also a noninvasive and accurate method for evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of antipsoriatic drugs. In scleroderma, sonographic findings vary depending on disease activity and the patterns vary; therefore, 22 MHz probes may also prove useful over the other instrumental tools to monitor the disease course and treatment efficacy in focal scleroderma. Other potential applications include allergic dermatitis, nodular erythema, dermatomyosis, sarcoidosis, lymphedema of the limbs and allergologic conditions. Ultrasound can also be used in monitoring the response to or complications of topic drugs administration, and in the follow-up of focal burns.
CONCLUSION: High frequency ultrasound can provide a reliable morphologic representation of skin lesions but it is also an accurate noninvasive tool for monitoring the therapeutic efficacy of drugs administration in focal or diffuse diseases. The application of high frequency studies to dermatology is very challenging. Indeed, the very high frequency probes up to 22 MHz currently available are particularly useful for reliable studies. Contrast-enhanced color and power doppler are very promising techniques. Advancements in technology will improve the correlation of clinical with high frequency ultrasound findings in the assessment of several skin diseases.
Collagenoson and Dermatology