{{Short description|Age-related skin blemish}} {{cs1 config |display-authors=6 |name-list-style=vanc}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}} {{Infobox medical condition (new) | name = Age spot | synonyms = Liver spot, solar lentigo, lentigo senilis | image = File:Liver spots, light-skinned Caucasian man, age 63.jpg | caption = Age spots on the left hand of a 63-year-old light-skinned Caucasian man | pronounce = | field = Dermatology | symptoms = | complications = | onset = | duration = | types = | causes = Prolonged exposure to UV radiation | risks = | diagnosis = | differential = | prevention = Sun screen | treatment = | medication = | prognosis = | frequency = | deaths = }} '''Age spots''' (also known as '''liver spot''', '''solar lentigo''',<ref name="Andrews"/> "'''lentigo senilis'''",<ref name="Andrews">{{cite book |last1=James |first1=William D. |title=Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology |last2=Berger |first2=Timothy G. |publisher=Saunders Elsevier |year=2006 |isbn=0-7216-2921-0 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>{{rp|686}} "'''old age spot'''",<ref name="Bolognia"/> "'''senile freckle'''")<ref name="Bolognia">{{cite book |last1=Rapini |first1=Ronald P. |title=Dermatology: 2-Volume Set |last2=Bolognia |first2=Jean L. |last3=Jorizzo |first3=Joseph L. |publisher=Mosby |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4160-2999-1 |location=St. Louis |pages=1716–17}}</ref> are blemishes on the skin associated with aging<ref>{{Cite web |title=Age spots (liver spots) - Diagnosis and treatment |url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/age-spots/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355864 |access-date=7 July 2020 |website=Mayo Clinic |archive-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214005508/https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/age-spots/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355864 |url-status=live }}</ref> and caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation |url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/uv-radiation.html |access-date=7 July 2020 |website=www.cancer.org |language=en |archive-date=30 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430142949/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/uv-radiation.html |url-status=live }}</ref> They range in color from light brown<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--staff byline--> |date=5 August 2015 |title=5 skin spots you shouldn't worry about |url=https://www.health.harvard.edu/skin-and-hair/5-skin-spots-you-shouldnt-worry-about |access-date=7 July 2020 |website=Harvard Health |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227134333/https://www.health.harvard.edu/skin-and-hair/5-skin-spots-you-shouldnt-worry-about |url-status=live }}</ref> to red or black and are located in areas most often exposed to the sun, particularly the hands, face, shoulders, arms and forehead, and the scalp if bald.
The spots were once called liver spots as they were incorrectly believed to be caused by liver problems, but they are physiologically unrelated to the liver, save for a similar color.<ref name="Carlson">{{cite book |last1=Carlson |first1=Karen J. |title=The new Harvard guide to women's health |last2=Eisenstat |last3=Ziporyn |first3=Terra Diane |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2004 |page=337 |first2=Stephanie A.}}</ref> They form after years of sun exposure.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-02-11 |title=Skin Care and Aging |url=https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/skin-care/skin-care-and-aging |access-date=2026-04-09 |website=National Institute on Aging |language=en}}</ref>
In the overwhelming majority of cases, age spots pose no threat and require no treatment, though they occasionally have been known to obscure the detection of skin cancer. However, despite being a benign condition, age spots are sometimes considered unsightly and some people choose to have them removed. This can be done by electrosurgery, laser treatment, cryotherapy, or the use of depigmentation agents, such as hydroquinone,<ref name="mayoclinic.org">{{Cite news |title=Age spots (liver spots) Treatments and drugs |url=http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/age-spots/basics/treatment/con-20030473 |access-date=12 February 2017 |newspaper=Mayo Clinic |language=en |archive-date=13 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213090654/http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/age-spots/basics/treatment/con-20030473 |url-status=live }}</ref> tretinoin,<ref name="mayoclinic.org"/> topical cysteamine,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mansouri |first1=P. |last2=Farshi |first2=S. |last3=Hashemi |first3=Z. |last4=Kasraee |first4=B. |date=1 July 2015 |title=Evaluation of the efficacy of cysteamine 5% cream in the treatment of epidermal melasma: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial |journal=The British Journal of Dermatology |volume=173 |issue=1 |pages=209–17 |doi=10.1111/bjd.13424 |issn=1365-2133 |pmid=25251767 |s2cid=21618233}}</ref> azelaic acid,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rodríguez Prieto |first1=M. A. |last2=Manchado Lopez |first2=P. |last3=Ruiz Gonzalez |first3=I. |last4=Suarez |first4=D. |date=1 May 1993 |title=Treatment of lentigo maligna with azelaic acid |journal=International Journal of Dermatology |volume=32 |issue=5 |pages=363–64 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-4362.1993.tb01475.x |issn=0011-9059 |pmid=8505164 |s2cid=29546141}}</ref> or alpha hydroxy acids.<ref>{{cite web |title=Overview about liver spots/age spots |url=http://www.beautynaturalskin.com/overview-about-liver-spots/ |access-date=3 July 2015 |publisher=Beauty Natural Skin |archive-date=3 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703065028/http://www.beautynaturalskin.com/overview-about-liver-spots/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Causes == right|thumb|Histology slide of a solar lentigo
Differently from the melanotic nevi and the verrucous nevi on the skin, age spots change in color and in shape with time. Wang-Michelitsch and Michelitsch propose a hypothesis inspired by their misrepair-accumulation aging theory<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Jicun |last2=Michelitsch |first2=Thomas |last3=Wunderlin |first3=Arne |last4=Mahadeva |first4=Ravi |date=30 March 2009 |title=Aging as a consequence of misrepair -- A novel theory of aging |journal=Nature Precedings |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC |page=13 |arxiv=1503.07163 |bibcode=2015arXiv150307163W |doi=10.1038/npre.2009.2988.1 |issn=1756-0357}}</ref> for the development of age spots.<ref name="Wang-Michelitsch2015">{{cite arXiv |eprint=1505.07012 |first1=Jicun |last1=Wang-Michelitsch |first2=Thomas |last2=Michelitsch |title=Development of age spots as a result of accumulation of aged cells in aged skin |year=2015 |class=q-bio.TO }}</ref> They propose that aged basal cells contain lipofuscin bodies that cannot be removed and might promote the aging of neighboring cells, generating a feedback loop that causes more and more neighbor cells to become aged and contain lipofuscins.<ref name=Wang-Michelitsch2015/> Such cells might then aggregate into a spot with an irregular shape.<ref name=Wang-Michelitsch2015/>
Another group<ref name="Yoon2018">{{cite journal |vauthors=Yoon JE, Kim Y, Kwon S, Kim M, Kim YH, Kim JH, Park TJ, Kang HY |date=9 September 2018 |title=Senescent fibroblasts drive ageing pigmentation: A potential therapeutic target for senile lentigo |url=http://www.thno.org/v08p4620.htm |journal=Theranostics |volume=8 |issue=17 |pages=4620–4632 |doi=10.7150/thno.26975 |pmc=6160768 |pmid=30279727 |access-date=26 December 2019 |archive-date=26 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226190753/https://www.thno.org/v08p4620.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> has reported that "age spots" taken from human skin biopsies of patients facial senile lentigo of Fitzpatrick skin type III or IV aged 55–62 are enriched with senescent fibroblasts compared to surrounding skin. The dark coloration appeared to be due to higher melanin levels and activity of tyrosinase in the senescent fibroblasts than in the controls, potentially related to lower SDF1 expression.<ref name="Yoon2018"/> Patients were then administered six weekly treatments of microneedle fractional radiofrequency aimed at eliminating dermal senescent fibroblasts; this led to a marked decrease in epidermal pigmentation compared to baseline, accompanied by a decrease in the synthesis of collagen and the normalization of suppressed SDF1 expression.<ref name="Yoon2018"/>
== Prevention == Broad spectrum sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB radiation protect against age spots.<ref name=":0" /> Wearing a hat can prevent sun spots from forming on the face.<ref name=":0" />
== Treatment == Treatment for age spots is almost never done for health-related reasons, though it is sometimes done for cosmetic ones. Skin-bleaching products that inhibit pigmentation or cosmetic creams containing the ingredients alpha hydroxy acids or retinoids are known to be effective. Age spots can also be frozen off with liquid nitrogen; that is, via cryosurgery.<ref name=Carlson/>
== See also == * Freckle * Lentigo * List of cutaneous conditions
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Commonscatinline}} {{Medical resources | DiseasesDB = 34327 | ICD10 = {{ICD10|L|81|4|l|80}} | ICD9 = {{ICD9|709.09}} | ICDO = | OMIM = | MedlinePlus = 001141 | eMedicineSubj = derm | eMedicineTopic = 221 | MeshID = D007911 }} {{Pigmentation disorders}}
Category:External signs of ageing Category:Melanocytic nevi and neoplasms Category:Human skin color