Skin and Aging Processes

Aging and the problems of the elderly are newsworthy items today, and the reading public confronts these subjects regularly. Frequent reports sound alarms about the social and economic consequences of the increased number of elderly persons in the United States. The medical problems of an aging population receive the attention of legislators, sociologists, and medical researchers. The National Institute on Aging, charged with promoting and funding research projects dealing with all aspects of the biology of aging, has been given substantial governmental support. Interest in the cutaneous aspects of aging also is widespread, and, for those professionals who want to understand aging skin, the recent volume by Barbara A. Gilchrest, MD, is a welcome addition to the medical literature. The subject is carefully and thoroughly reviewed. There is an introductory section in which theories on the biology of aging are discussed. These pages are nicely written and set the stage