Wrinkles

A wrinkle is a fold, ridge or crease in the skin. Skin wrinkles typically appear as a result of aging processes such as glycation or, temporarily, as the result of prolonged (more than a few minutes) immersion in water. Wrinkling in the skin is caused by habitual facial expressions, aging, sun damage, smoking, poor hydration, and various other factors. With prolonged water exposure, the outer layer of skin starts to absorb water. The skin doesn’t expand evenly, causing it to wrinkle. Depletion of water in the body, as occurs with dehydration, can also cause this puckering of the skin. Cortisol causes degradation of skin collagen.

Tuberous Sclerosis

Tuberous sclerosis or tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare, multi-system genetic disease that causes benign tumours to grow in the brain and on other vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, eyes, lungs, and skin. A combination of symptoms may include seizures, developmental delay, behavioral problems, skin abnormalities, lung and kidney disease. TSC is caused by mutations on either of two genes, TSC1 and TSC2, which encode for the proteins hamartin and tuberin respectively. These proteins act as tumour growth suppressors, agents that regulate cell proliferation and differentiation.