The Science of Collagen

As a consumer in the 90's merely "knowing of" a product is not enough to make a decision on whether or not to use a product. Consumers today want information. Collagen, for example, is a household word although few people know exactly what this word means or its wide variety of uses. This brochure entitled The Science of Collagen has been designed to give you a better understanding of just that, collagen.

What is collagen?

Collagen, a naturally occurring fibrous protein found in both humans and animals, provides structural support for bones, skin, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels and is the most abundant protein in the body.  It is the "glue" that holds your body's connective tissue together.  From the contours of a person's face to the strength of their Achilles tendons, collagen lends stability to the body's tissues.   There are several major types of collagen, which give rise to the variety of structural and functional properties collagen exhibits throughout the body.  For example, it is a primary component of the cornea in your eye, and it plays an important role in your brain's motor centers.

However, as you age, or as a result of injury or trauma, your body's collagen begins to weaken and lose its elasticity and eventually wears down.  The result can be as simple as the lines and wrinkles on our face or as complex as the loss of control over our excretory functions.

As you can see, collagen's function in the body is an important one.

How was injectable Collagen developed?

In the early 1970's a group of physicians and a biochemist at Stanford University were researching alternatives to skin grafts.  In the course of their work, they developed the concept of purifying bovine (cow) dermal (hide/skin) collagen so thoroughly that it could be used to replace lost skin tissue.  This early research led to the development of Zyderm® and Zyplast® Collagen Implants (commonly referred to as injectable collagen) by Collagen Corporation.

Illustration of a collagen molecule

Today, Collagen Corporation manufactures a highly purified form of collagen by harvesting bovine hides and extracting the collagen modules. To ensure that only the safest and highest quality product is produced, Collagen Corporation oversees the entire process from raising a closed herd (to minimize the animals exposure to any infectious diseases) to a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to actually extract the molecules.

The scientific reason for using bovine collagen is based on the composition of the collagen molecule.  The human and bovine core collagen molecules are very similar.   The specific differences exist in the end peptides (telopeptides).   These sites are, therefore, the most likely to be recognized by the body as "foreign" causing a biological reaction.  During the specialized manufacturing process developed by Collagen Cooperation, the telopeptide regions are removed from the bovine collagen molecule leaving the core protein similar to that of your body's own collagen.

For approximately 95% of people, this process prevents their body from recognizing the bovine collagen molecules differ from their own. 

As you can see from the chart below,many forms of animal collagen have been used as biomedical materials for decades.

Years of Use in Descending Order

100+ 30+ 10+         Recently Approved

Collagen Replacement Therapy

When a person smiles, frowns, or squints, stress is placed on the collagen in the skin, wearing it down and resulting in the formation of facial lines and wrinkles.  Zyderm ® and Zyplast® Collagen implants, also known as Collagen Replacement Therapy, are safe, non-surgical treatments in which highly purified bovine dermal collagenis injected into the skin (by a trained medical professional) to replenish its natural collagen.   Unlike the collagen in moisturizers which cannot penetrate the surface of the skin, Collagen Replacement Therapy is injected into the dermis of the skin to temporarily correct lines, wrinkles and scars.  Commonindications for treatment with Collagen Replacement Therapy are frown lines, acne scars, vertical lip lines, lip outline, marionette lines, worry lines, crow's feet and smile lines.  To date, over 1 million people in 37 countries have been treated with Collagen Replacement Therapy.

"As a professional woman, I am under stress and pressure every day at my job and sometimes nature needs help in softening the lines that stress leaves behind. That's why Collagen Replacement Therapy is part of my beauty routine."
- Marilyn Biede, Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Bone Graft Substitute

Imagine the pain of a serious bone fracture. With the development and marketing clearance of a collagen-based bone graft substitute (a collagen product used by orthopedic surgeons), treatment of serious bone fractures no longer needs to be more painful than the injury.  Developed jointly by Collagen Corporation and Zimmer, Inc., a Bristol-Myers Squibb subsidiary, this bone graft substitute is made up of purified bovine dermal collagen and a type of calcium ceramic.  During surgery, it is mixed with the patients own bone marrow and is placed into the fracture site providing a scaffolding around which new bone will grow.  Use of this product has resulted in less surgery time and a reduced risk of infection.  In addition, the bone graft substitute eliminates the need for the patient to undergo a painful autograft (harvesting of patients own bone from another site) bone grafting procedure, and further, it prevents the transmission of human infectious agents and inconsistent results that are common with allograft (bone graft supplied through a bone bank) procedures.

Urinary Incontinence Treatment

Stress urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine from the bladder caused by physical stress or sudden changes in abdominal pressure.  Affecting millions of people worldwide, urinary incontinence can result from such simple activities as walking coughing, sneezing, lifting or laughing.  Now, an exciting new collagen treatment is available to treat this disabling disorder.  A type of purified bovine dermal collagen is injected via the urethra (outlet for the bladder) to increase tissue bulk and help alleviate this involuntaryurine loss.  Jointly developed by Collagen Corporation and C.R Bard, Inc., treatment can be completed in approximately 30 minutes and is often performed as an outpatient procedure under local anesthesia.  This is important because other treatment options often require an invasive surgical procedure and a hospital stay.  Although this new collagen treatment alleviates the need for surgery, periodic re-injections are necessary to achieve and maintain the best results.   Currently, there is no other injectable material approved for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.