Androstenedione, 4-androstenediol, 5-androstenediol, 19-norandrostenediol and 19-norandrostenedione are commonly referred to as "Andro" prohormones. Over the last few years, supplementation using these prohormones has been aggressively marketed to the general public. Supplement manufacturers often claim that Andro use improves serum testosterone concentrations, increases muscular strength and muscle mass, helps to reduce body fatness, enhances mood, and improves sexual performance. However, to date, most studies contradict these claims. In contrast, several studies using oral Andro related prohormones show that Andro use can abnormally elevate estrogen related hormones as well as alterations in hormonal markers (i.e., abnormal elevations in serum estrogen) thought to increase a person's risk for developing prostate or pancreatic cancers. In addition, most studies also indicate that significant declines in high-density lipoproteins occur leading to an increased cardiovascular disease risk. Thus, to date, the current research base suggests that Andro prohormone use does not support manufacturer claims. But it does suggest there should be strong concerns regarding long-term oral Andro prohormone use, especially regarding its effects on blood lipids and estrogen hormone profiles.

Thesis advisor: John B. Williamson / The desire to defy the aging process and to prolong the lifespan has long captured the human imagination. Recognized as one of the most ancient known pieces of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh documents a King’s quest to find immortality. More recent examples include the story of Ponce de Leon’s 16th century search to discover the Fountain of Youth, Sir Francis Bacon’s (1659) assertion that humans are naturally immortal “potens non mori,” and Benjamin Franklin’s desire to be preserved in a vat of madeira until science is capable of life extension. Developments in science and technology, including telomere manipulation, genetic engineering, cloning, nanotechnology, the potential to create new organs from stem cells, and the creation of therapeutic pharmaceuticals that could significantly postpone disease, have served to inspire; aging in the 21st century is no longer regarded by scientists as an inevitable process programmed by evolution (Olshansky et al. 2006). Situated within a detailed historical overview, this qualitative research project explores the experiences of individuals engaged in practices currently implicated in potentially delaying aging and even extending life. Based on information from 44 in-depth interviews, this research explores issues such as lay understandings of the biology of aging, conceptualizations of the inner body, the use of and experience with optimization technologies, and the embodied effects of participation in anti-aging and life-extension body regimens. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

Cosmetic treatment with botulinum toxin type A injections is the top non-surgical cosmetic procedure in the U.S. Many patients are beginning treatment at a younger age to prevent the development of facial wrinkles associated with aging. However, there is limited data to support the use of prophylactic botulinum toxin injections. Patients beginning treatment at a younger age have fewer wrinkles requiring fewer units to treat, which reduces the overall cost of treatment. Patients also maintain higher levels of self- esteem by preventing or delaying the onset of facial wrinkles that can negatively impact their appearance. This study proposes that patients receiving botulinum toxin injections at a younger age (< 35) will have higher satisfaction with treatment outcomes. By demonstrating an association between starting age of injections and patient satisfaction, this study aims to provide merit for clinical trials studying the effectiveness of prophylactic botulinum toxin injections for cosmetic indications.

<p>Background</p><p>After a successful launch in early 2007 Pond’s Age Miracle, Unilever Vietnam’s anti-aging skincare product, is now experiencing falling sales and a declining market share having failed to complete its mission of counter-attacking its main competitor – P&G’s Olay Total Effect. This predicament poses a question of how Unilever Vietnam can improve market performance of this product.</p><p>Purpose</p><p>To determine Pond’s Age Miracle customer perceived value and propose recommendations on how to improve it.</p><p>Method</p><p>A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches was pursued. In-depth interviews with consumers were used to discover relevant attributes of anti-aging skincare. A consumer survey was employed to measure relative importance and relative performance of the identified attributes – a basis for determining Pond’s customer perceived value.</p><p>Findings, Analysis and Conclusion</p><p>Customer perceived value of Pond’s Age Miracle was found to have a negative character on the entire market scale and across most of the listed consumer groups.</p><p>Recommendations</p><p>A re-launch of the upgraded version of Pond’s is suggested to maintain the current consumers and recruit the potential anti-aging skincare users.</p>

Background After a successful launch in early 2007 Pond’s Age Miracle, Unilever Vietnam’s anti-aging skincare product, is now experiencing falling sales and a declining market share having failed to complete its mission of counter-attacking its main competitor – P&amp;G’s Olay Total Effect. This predicament poses a question of how Unilever Vietnam can improve market performance of this product. Purpose To determine Pond’s Age Miracle customer perceived value and propose recommendations on how to improve it. Method A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches was pursued. In-depth interviews with consumers were used to discover relevant attributes of anti-aging skincare. A consumer survey was employed to measure relative importance and relative performance of the identified attributes – a basis for determining Pond’s customer perceived value. Findings, Analysis and Conclusion Customer perceived value of Pond’s Age Miracle was found to have a negative character on the entire market scale and across most of the listed consumer groups. Recommendations A re-launch of the upgraded version of Pond’s is suggested to maintain the current consumers and recruit the potential anti-aging skincare users.

According to the Yearbook of Chemical Industry Statistics of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the total sales of domestic cosmetics market in 2008 was approximately 1,507. 1 billion yen, slightly less than that of 2007. In Japan's mature cosmetics market, however, the sales of anti-aging skin care products has been growing every year. The reasons are the arrival of an aging society and females' increasing emphasis on their appearances. There are over 1,200 cosmetics manufacturers in Japan. The distribution of these companies according to their sizes appears to be M-shaped. The top five¡XSHISEIDO, KAO, Kanebo, Kose, and P&G Japan, have been in heated competition for years, but it does not stop new entrants from joining the battlefield. In the face of fierce competition among the cash-rich giants and the threats of aggressive new entrants, the smaller-scaled companies that lie in between are facing daunting challenges. This study intends to show how such medium-sized companies might come up with a competitive strategy to ensure their survival and profitability. Saishunkan Co. Ltd. is one of those medium-sized cosmetics manufacturers. Saishunkan has modest capital amount of 100 million yen, yet it is able achieve annual sales of over 20 billion yen. The company has unique ways of marketing and sales, clearly targeted customers, products with special ingredients, and a sound market segmentation strategy. This thesis intends to examine, through the case study of Saishunkan, how a smaller-scaled company might compete and survive in a theater filled with cash-rich big companies who enjoy the economy of scale.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / South Africa has immensely rich natural flora diversity with more than 20 000 species of higherplants. Asteraceae is one of the biggest families of flowering plants with about 246 genera and 2,300 species in southern Africa. South Africa being home to more than 35 % of the world's Helichrysum species (c.a. 244) of which many are used in traditional medicine, and can be considered as a potential resource for new bioactive chemical entities. Chemical studies on the total extract of the South African Helichrysum species viz: H. teretifolium, H. niveum and H. rutilans resulted in the isolation of twenty eight [14 flavonoids (C1-C10; C22- C25), 10 phloroglucinols (C11-C20) and 4 terpenoids (C21, C26-C28)] pure compounds. The chemical structures of the newly isolated compounds were elucidated on the basis of their 1D and 2D-NMR, HRMS, IR and UV spectroscopic data as heliteretifolin (C1), 1-benzoyl-3-(3-methyl- 2-butenylacetate)-phloroglucinol (helinivene A, C11), 1-benzoyl-3-(2-hydroxyl-3-methyl-3- butene-1-yl)-phloroglucinol (helinivene B, C12) and 8-(2-methyl-1-propanone)-3,5,7- trihydroxyl-2,2-dimethoxychromone (helinivene C, C13), while occurrence of 7- methoxyisoglabranin (C6), 4-methoxyquercetin (C8), 4`-methoxykaempferol (C9), mosloflavone (C10), 3β-24-dihydroxyterexer-14-ene (C21), 5,7,8-trihydroxy-3,6-dimethoxyflavone-8-O-2- methyl-2-butanoate (C22) and 15--hydroxy-(-)-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid (C28), from Helichrysum genus were reported for the first time. In vitro inhibition of oxidative stress by the isolated compounds were measured as total antioxidant capacity using the FRAP, TEAC, ORAC (hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals) as well as Fe2+-induced microsomal lipid peroxidation assays. Inhibitory activities against skin-diseases related enzymeswere evaluated in a tyrosinase and elastase non-biological system, while In vitro prooxidant behavior of the compounds was also investigated in the presence of copper (II). Compounds C7, C8, C11 and C12 in comparison with the commercial antioxidant EGCG demonstrated TEAC (4529.01 ± 2.44; 4170.66 ± 6.72; 19545.00 ± 10.25; 43615.73 ± 6.66; vs 11545.40 ± 17.28) μM TE/g respectively, and ORAChydroxyl radical (7.265 ± 0.71; 6.779 ± 3.40; 64.85± 10.95; 94.97 ± 5.80; vs 3.91 ± 4.65) X106 μM TE/g capacities, respectively. Inhibition of Fe2+- induced microsomal lipid peroxidation demonstrated by C7, C8, C11 and C12 expressed as IC50 values included: 2.931 ± 0.64; 6.449 ± 3.16; 5.115 ± 0.90; 3.553 ± 1.92 µg/mL respectively. Additionally, the total antioxidant capacities measured as FRAP (4816.31 ± 7.42; 3584.17 ± 0.54)µMAAE/g, and ORACperoxyl radical (17.836 ± 2.90; 12.545 ± 5.07) X 103 µMTE/g were also observed for compounds C7 & C8, respectively. Compound C7 demonstrated potent anti-tyrosinase activity with IC50 8.092 ± 7.14, while mild anti-tyrosinase activities were demonstrated by compounds C8, C11, C12, C22 and C23 and expressed as IC50 values (IC50 = 27.573 ± 3.11; 35.625 ± 4.67; 26.719 ± 5.05; 25.735 ± 9.62;24.062 ± 0.61) µg/mL respectively. Anti-elastase activity with IC50 values of 25.313 ± 7.85 µg/mL was observed for C13. This is the first scientific report to be carried out on the chemical and biological profiles of H. teretifolium.H. niveum and H. rutilans. The results suggest that these isolated compounds might become natural agents to inhibit oxidative stress and skin disease-related enzymes, with the prospect of being utilized in cosmetic products formulation upon further biological and clinicalinvestigations.

No description available.

Estudos têm relatado o potencial de aplicação cosmética de classes de proteínas que conferem resistência aos diferentes tipos de estresse sobre a pele. Nesse contexto, as proteínas de estresse - proteínas de choque térmico, metalotioneínas e sirtuínas - enquadram-se entre as proteínas de grande potencial no combate ao fotoenvelhecimento. Diversos extratos vegetais tem mostrado potencial de induzir uma ou mais proteínas de estresse. Dessa forma, o objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos in vitro da aplicação isolada dos extratos de Anadenanthera colubrina (Angico branco), Rhodiola rosea (Rodiola), Pfaffia paniculata (Pfaffia), sobre a expressão gênica das proteínas do choque térmico (Heat shock proteins, HSP32 e HSP72), metalotioneína (MT-I) e da sirtuína isoforma SIRT1, em condição basal e mediante exposição aguda das culturas celulares à radiação UV. Como resultados de maior relevância o extrato de Anadenanthera colubrina foi capaz de modular positivamente as expressões gênicas de HSP72, SIRT-1 e MT-I, em fibroblastos sob condição basal. Já o extrato de Pfaffia paniculata foi capaz de elevar a expressão gênica de SIRT-1, em fibroblastos irradiados por UVA após incubação com o extrato vegetal e sob condição basal, além de induzir MT-I em culturas não irradiadas. Por fim, o extrato de Rhodiola rosea elevou as expressões de HSP32 e MT-I, em fibroblastos sob condição basal. Devido à capacidade indutora das proteínas de estresse pelos extratos vegetais avaliados, sugere-se que os mesmos apresentam potencial para utilização em produtos cosméticos, especialmente, com finalidade antienvelhecimento. / Studies have reported the potential for cosmetic application of proteins classes that confer resistance to different types of stress on the skin. In this context, stress proteins - heat shock proteins, metallothioneins and sirtuins - fall between the proteins of great potential in the fight against photoaging. Several plant extracts have been shown potential to induce one or more stress proteins. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro effects from the isolated application of the extracts Anadenanthera colubrina (Angico-branco), Rhodiola rosea (Rodiola), Pfaffia paniculata (Fáfia) on the gene expression of heat shock proteins, HSP32 and HSP72, metallothionein (MT-I) and the sirtuin, isoform SIRT1, in basal conditions and upon acute exposure of cell cultures to UV radiation. As most relevant results, Anadenanthera colubrina extract was able to positively modulate the gene expression of HSP72, SIRT-1 and MT-I in fibroblasts under basal conditions. The Pfaffia paniculata extract was able to increase the gene expression of SIRT-1 in fibroblasts irradiated by UV after incubation with plant extract and in basal conditions, in addition to induce MT-I in non-irradiated cultures. Finally, the extract of Rhodiola rosea increased HSP32 and MT-I gene expressions in fibroblasts under basal conditions. Considering the plant extracts ability to induce stress proteins, it is suggested that they have potential for use in cosmetic products, especially, for anti-aging purposes.

Estudos têm relatado o potencial de aplicação cosmética de classes de proteínas que conferem resistência aos diferentes tipos de estresse sobre a pele. Nesse contexto, as proteínas de estresse - proteínas de choque térmico, metalotioneínas e sirtuínas - enquadram-se entre as proteínas de grande potencial no combate ao fotoenvelhecimento. Diversos extratos vegetais tem mostrado potencial de induzir uma ou mais proteínas de estresse. Dessa forma, o objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos in vitro da aplicação isolada dos extratos de Anadenanthera colubrina (Angico branco), Rhodiola rosea (Rodiola), Pfaffia paniculata (Pfaffia), sobre a expressão gênica das proteínas do choque térmico (Heat shock proteins, HSP32 e HSP72), metalotioneína (MT-I) e da sirtuína isoforma SIRT1, em condição basal e mediante exposição aguda das culturas celulares à radiação UV. Como resultados de maior relevância o extrato de Anadenanthera colubrina foi capaz de modular positivamente as expressões gênicas de HSP72, SIRT-1 e MT-I, em fibroblastos sob condição basal. Já o extrato de Pfaffia paniculata foi capaz de elevar a expressão gênica de SIRT-1, em fibroblastos irradiados por UVA após incubação com o extrato vegetal e sob condição basal, além de induzir MT-I em culturas não irradiadas. Por fim, o extrato de Rhodiola rosea elevou as expressões de HSP32 e MT-I, em fibroblastos sob condição basal. Devido à capacidade indutora das proteínas de estresse pelos extratos vegetais avaliados, sugere-se que os mesmos apresentam potencial para utilização em produtos cosméticos, especialmente, com finalidade antienvelhecimento. / Studies have reported the potential for cosmetic application of proteins classes that confer resistance to different types of stress on the skin. In this context, stress proteins - heat shock proteins, metallothioneins and sirtuins - fall between the proteins of great potential in the fight against photoaging. Several plant extracts have been shown potential to induce one or more stress proteins. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro effects from the isolated application of the extracts Anadenanthera colubrina (Angico-branco), Rhodiola rosea (Rodiola), Pfaffia paniculata (Fáfia) on the gene expression of heat shock proteins, HSP32 and HSP72, metallothionein (MT-I) and the sirtuin, isoform SIRT1, in basal conditions and upon acute exposure of cell cultures to UV radiation. As most relevant results, Anadenanthera colubrina extract was able to positively modulate the gene expression of HSP72, SIRT-1 and MT-I in fibroblasts under basal conditions. The Pfaffia paniculata extract was able to increase the gene expression of SIRT-1 in fibroblasts irradiated by UV after incubation with plant extract and in basal conditions, in addition to induce MT-I in non-irradiated cultures. Finally, the extract of Rhodiola rosea increased HSP32 and MT-I gene expressions in fibroblasts under basal conditions. Considering the plant extracts ability to induce stress proteins, it is suggested that they have potential for use in cosmetic products, especially, for anti-aging purposes.