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Reflectance Confocal Microscopy and Aging

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Textbook of Aging Skin

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Abstract

Limitations in conventional clinical and histopathological assessment of chronological aging and photoaging have seen interest grow in noninvasive microscopy techniques. At the forefront is the use of reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM). Typically referred to as RCM, it results in quasi-histological resolution of the cellular and subcellular structures within the stratum corneum down to the epidermal-dermal junction and upper papillary dermis. RCM can be used for en face serial imaging of the same site over time resulting in unique features that provide a mechanistic understanding of the aging process. This chapter discusses these features in relation to conventional approaches and how computational analysis can be used for automated objective assessment of skin aging. Lastly, advancements in RCM and alternative microscopy techniques are introduced, providing insight into the pathways for clinical integration of noninvasive microscopy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dermatology Research Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Translational Research Institute, 37 Kent Street, Level 5, Room 5082, 4102, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Anthony P. Raphael & Tarl W. Prow

  2. Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Anthony P. Raphael & Danielle Tokarz

  3. Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Danielle Tokarz

  4. Clinical Dermatology, IFO San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Via Chianesi, 53, 00144, Rome, Italy

    Marco Ardigò

Authors
  1. Anthony P. Raphael
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  2. Danielle Tokarz
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  3. Marco Ardigò
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  4. Tarl W. Prow
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anthony P. Raphael .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Winton Hill Business Center, The Procter & Gamble Company , Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Miranda A. Farage

  2. Margoshes-Miller Consulting, LLC, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Kenneth W. Miller

  3. Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

    Howard I. Maibach

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Raphael, A.P., Tokarz, D., Ardigò, M., Prow, T.W. (2017). Reflectance Confocal Microscopy and Aging. In: Farage, M., Miller, K., Maibach, H. (eds) Textbook of Aging Skin. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-47398-6_161

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-47398-6_161

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-47397-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-47398-6

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