Neuropeptides in Antiaging?

Neuropeptides may be a new source for antiaging applications. According to a recent press release sent to the personal care industry, some physicians and clinicians say neuropeptides may revitalize skin and hair as well as promote heart health, help decrease the risk of certain forms of cancer and strengthen the immune system. Neuropeptides reportedly regulate most all of life's processes and although they are produced naturally in the brain, almost every tissue in the body has receptor sites for them.

Research into neuropeptides is said to have increased in recent years. Some of them function as neurotransmitters and some as hormones (cortisol, for instance). At Tufts University, neuropeptides are being studied in diverse physiological processes; research encompasses everything from pain and analgesia, appetite control, inflammation, mood and affective behavior, to the entire neuropeptide mechanism possibly being the connective tissues of the body—uniting and coordinating cells, tissues, glands, organs and systems of the body.

According to the report, Deepak Chopra, M.D., said the significance of the discovery of neuropeptides is that it has shown that the body is fluid enough to match the mind; neuropeptides may serve as a point of transformation between thoughts and bodily reactions, i.e., a transformation of non-matter into matter.

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