The Peptide Era – Part 1

Pharmacy Rx symbol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recently I reviewed two peptides for hair loss and canitis. Here I shall attempt a holistic overview of peptides in general with an emphasis on anti-ageing peptides.

Retinoids are the gold standard prescription product for anti-ageing. Retinoids go right inside the cells and bind to the RAR and RXR neuclear receptors and directly promote collagen synthesis at the transcription level. Since retinoids are prescription products, these effects are well documented and demonstrable by in vivo studies. However like most prescription products, they are not without side effects. The non-prescription Vitamin A derivatives are less irritating, but they are less effective also.

Peptides are the cosmetic industry’s answer to retinoids. As the thin line between clinical and cosmetic dermatology is becoming more and more hazy, these peptides are finding a niche in the dermatologists prescriptions as well. But do they actually work?

Peptides are short chain amino acid sequences not long enough to be a protein, that promise more but deliver less, a limitation commonly seen with many novel biotechnology innovations. (How long have you been hearing about personalised medicine?) But that is a different topic worth a consideration in my informatics blog. The storyline is quite fascinating in most cases.

In my next post I shall discuss the story of peptides that can trick the body into producing more collagen and peptides that simulate Botulinum Neurotoxin along with the ‘other side of the story‘.

Read the full series here.