Dimercine
Monday August 6, 2001
Researchers have developed an experimental cream (Dimercine) that may repair some sun damage. The lotion contains an enzyme that repairs sun-damaged DNA.
A bacterial enzyme called ``T4 endonuclease V'' has long been known to help repair DNA. But no one knew how to get it through skin. Then Yarosh's biotechnology company, AGI Dermatics, put the enzyme into microscopic fat bubbles called liposomes that can slip inside skin cells. There, the enzyme binds to UV-caused DNA mutations and initiates repair.
First tested were xeroderma pigmentosum patients, who have an incurable gene defect that leaves them unable to repair most UV damage. Thirty applied either Dimericine or a dummy lotion to their face and hands daily for a year. Dimericine users had a 30 percent reduction in basal cell carcinoma, and a dramatic 68 percent reduction in precancerous actinic keratoses.
It seems to me as though this new drug is a preventative drug or a "morning after" cream to use immediately after sun exposure or immediately after DNA damage. I have heard nothing about it clearing up precancerous actinic keratoses or DSAP. But you might want to ask your doctor about Dimercine.