Reversing Sun Damage to Your Skin - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

Reserchers say they're impressed with a new medication that appears to reverse sun damage even after you've been burned. The drug is called Dimericine. It's an enzyme that's absorbed through the skin and targets cells with DNA damage.

Here's how it works: ultraviolet damages DNA. Dimericine specifically recognizes the damaged area and cuts it out. The body's own repair system then removes that damaged DNA and inserts new, healthy DNA molecules. So, the resulting strand of DNA is as good as new. "The clinical testing that we've done has been in people who are extremely sensitive exposure because of a genetic disease, and here we are able to show a reduced rate of skin cancer," says Daniel Yarosh, Ph.D.

Dimericine is not yet available. If it is approved, you'll need a prescription to get it. Dr. Yarosh says it will not be a substitute for sunscreen. You'll still need to use that too.