the present invention will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying non - limiting examples . it should be understood that the following description is illustrative only , and should not be taken in any way as a restriction on the generality of the invention . production of bmf - 1 suitable for the cosmetic and therapeutic treatment of skin damage and the aged appearance of skin bmf - 1 was prepared as in australian patent number 645589 . the process involves the microfiltration of pasteurised whey to remove solids , adsorption of growth - promoting material to a column of s - sepharose fast flow s ™ cation exchange resin ( pharmacia ) that had been equilibrated with 50 mm sodium citrate buffer to remove unadsorbed material , elution of bmf - 1 with 0 . 4m nacl added to 10 mm sodium citrate ph 6 . 5 , diafiltration against water and concentration . the composition can be left in liquid form or freeze dried for further formulation . production of bmf - 2 suitable for the cosmetic and therapeutic treatment of skin damage and the aged appearance of skin bmf - 2 was prepared as in australian patent number 702002 . a 10 g sample of bmf - 1 prepared as in example 1 was dissolved in 150 mm pbs and added to 250 mls of 10 mm hcl containing 0 . 2m nacl , and the ph adjusted to 2 . 5 with naoh . a 2 liter cellufine gl 1000 ™ ( amicon ) column was equilibrated with a 10 mm solution of hcl containing 0 . 2m nacl adjusted to ph 2 . 5 with naoh and 125 ml of the dissolved bmf - 1 was applied to the column and eluted at 6 . 8 ml / min with the same solution . 675 ml was collected from when the absorbance profile at 280 nm fell below 0 . 4 a . this pool was diafiltered against 0 . 1m ammonium bicarbonate . the composition can be left in liquid form or freeze dried for further formulation . all units for ingredients of the compositions are measured in “ parts ”. basic milk factors quantity specified hereby referred to as “ qs ”. cetomacrogol emulsifying wax was melted with paraffin at about 70 ° c . chlorocresol and propylene glycol were dissolved in about 50 parts of the distilled water warmed to about the same temperature . after mixing , the composition was adjusted to weight and stirred until cool . basic milk factors are then added to an appropriate concentration , and mixed thoroughly . the emulsifying ointment was melted at about 70 ° c . the phenoxyethanol was dissolved in the distilled water , warmed to about the same temperature . the composition was mixed , adjusted to weight and stirred until cool . the basic milk factors are then added while stirring thoroughly . emulsifying ointment was melted with the aid of gentle heat , followed by addition of sodium phosphate , citric acid and chlorocresol , previously dissolved in the distilled water at the same temperature . the composition was stirred gently until cold . the basic milk factors are then added and mixed thoroughly . the waxes and paraffins were melted together and stirred until cool . basic milk factors are then added to an appropriate concentration in a portion of the base , gradually incorporating the remainder , followed by thorough mixing . white soft paraffin was melted , and the liquid paraffin incorporated . the mixture was stirred until cold . the basic milk factors are titrated with a portion of the base and gradually incorporated into the remainder of the base . the tragacanth was mixed with glycerol and most of the distilled water . after bringing to the boil , the mixture was cooled , and the basic milk factors are added . the composition was adjusted to weight and mixed well . the finished product was protected from light . cetomacrogol emulsifying wax was melted with the liquid paraffin at about 60 ° c . to this mixture , the chlorhexidine solution previously diluted to 50 parts was added , with rapid stirring , with distilled water at the same temperature . after mixing , the composition was adjusted to volume and stirred until cold . balb c3t3 mouse fibroblasts were plated into 24 - place multiwells 24 hours before treatment to give a monolayer close to confluence . performed in triplicate , cells were incubated at least overnight in complete growth medium , rinsed with serum - free media then exposed to concentrations of bmf - 1 product ( 1 . 0 mg / ml ) in basal medium ( dmem containing 0 . 1 % fbs ) for between 48 and 72 hours . cell monolayers were treated with trypsin / edta ( 0 . 125 %/ 0 . 5 mm ) to disperse individual cells . cells were pelleted , washed in hanks balanced salt solution ( hbss ) and to assess cell number , cells were suspended in 450 μl of hbss and 50 μl trypan blue and counted manually using a haemocytometer . to assess viability , cells were treated with both annexin v / fitc ( 1 μg / ml ) and propidium iodide ( pi , 5 μg / ml ) in a total volume of 500 μl at 4 ° c . for 15 minutes ( method modified from van engeland et al , 1996 ). flow cytometry was then used to analyse cell viability . table 1 shows the viability of cultured fibroblasts treated with bmf - 1 or basal medium treated with annexin / pi were segregated into the following categories ; viable cells ( negative annexin v staining and negative pi staining ), apoptotic cells ( positive annexin staining but negative pi staining ) and necrotic cells ( positive annexin v staining and positive pi staining ). table 1 demonstrates that compared to basal dmem media , bmf - 1 ( 1 mg / ml ) stimulated the growth of cultured fibroblasts by approximately 3 . 0 fold . the percentage of viable cells was increased by 26 % in cultures treated with bmf - 1 compared with basal medium . bmf - 1 also reduced the number of apoptotic and necrotic cells by 73 % and 21 % respectively compared to basal medium . thus bmf - 1 stimulates the growth and survival of fibroblast cells in culture . to assess the effect of bmf - 1 and bmf - 2 on the growth of human keratinocyte cells ( hacat ), cells were plated into 96 - well plates to give a monolayer close to confluence . performed in triplicate , the cells were incubated at least overnight in complete growth medium , starved for at least two hours and then exposed to concentrations of bmf - 1 or bmf - 2 ( 0 - 1 . 0 mg / ml ) dissolved in dmem for up to 4 days . replicate wells were exposed to concentrations of 10 % fbs to serve as a positive control . plates were rinsed and methanol fixed for 30 minutes , then methylene blue stained for 30 minutes ( oliver et al , 1989 ). excess stain was washed off with borate buffer and the remaining stain solubilised with acidified ethanol ( 100 μl / well ). the optical density of the wells was read at 630 nm and the results presented in fig1 with the growth response obtained with 10 % fbs shown by the dashed line to assess the effect of bmf - 1 on cell viability , human keratinocyte cells ( hacat ) were plated into 24 - place multiwells to give a monolayer close to confluence and incubated for up to 3 days in complete growth medium . performed in triplicate , cells were then starved for up to 48 hours and then exposed to concentrations bf bmf - 1 ( 1 . 0 mg / ml ) dissolved in basal medium for between 48 and 72 hours . cell monolayers were treated with 4 mm edta for 10 minutes and then with trypsin / edta ( 0 . 125 %/ 0 . 5 mm ) to disperse individual cells . cells were pelleted , washed in hbss and to assess cell number , cells were suspended in 450 μl of hbss and 50 μl trypan blue and counted manually using a haemocytometer . to assess viability , cells were treated with both annexin v / fitc ( 1 μg / ml ) and propidium iodide ( pi , 5 μg / ml ) in a total volume of 500 μl at 4 ° c . for 15 minutes ( method modified from van engeland et al ). flow cytometry was then used to analyse cells ( see table 2 ). cells incubated with annexin / pi were segregated into the following categories ; viable cells ( negative annexin v staining and negative pi staining ), apoptotic cells ( positive annexin staining but negative pi staining ) and necrotic cells ( positive annexin v staining and positive pi staining ). both bmf - 1 and bmf - 2 stimulated the growth of hacat cells as shown in fig1 . the maximum responses obtained with bmf - 1 and bmf - 2 were at least comparable to the growth response observed in cells treated with 10 % fbs in the same assay ( dashed line , fig1 ). as shown in table 2 , a greater percentage of cells treated with bmf - 1 ( 1 mg / ml ) were found to be viable ( approximately 12 % increase compared to basal medium ) and less identified as apoptotic ( approximately 43 % decrease compared to basal medium ). thus , bmf - 1 product stimulates the growth and promotes the survival of cultured human keratinocytes . human skin fibroblasts were plated into 6 - well plates at a density of about 1 × 10 5 cells / well and grown until almost confluent before being starved overnight in basal medium ( dmem and 0 . 1 % fbs ). cells were then exposed to concentrations of bmf - 1 ( 0 - 2 . 0 mg / ml ) in basal medium for 48 hours . cell pellets were harvested for hydroxyproline determination as a measurement of collagen content ( fig2 ). bmf - 1 stimulated collagen production by human skin fibroblasts in a dose dependent manner ( fig2 ). the amount of collagen deposited by the cells as extra - cellular matrix was measured in the cell pellets and was found to have increased by up to 3 fold when cells were incubated with bmf - 1 compared to basal medium ( fig2 ). thus bmf - 1 stimulates both collagen secretion by human fibroblast cells and deposition of this collagen into the extra - cellular matrix . bmf - 1 was formulated into four representative topical emulsions on a weight for weight basis with incorporation of up to approximately 20 mg bmf - 1 protein per gram of emulsion . both control emulsion and topically formulated bmf - 1 was applied to prepared porcine skin ( washed and shaved ) at an application rate of approximately 0 . 05 g / cm 2 . material was applied by measured syringe ( 250 μl / 5 . 0 cm 2 marked area ) and rubbed into the skin with a cotton bud until minimal residue was evident on the surface of the skin . after 30 or 90 minutes full thickness 6 mm punch biopsies were harvested from both control and treated areas and snap frozen in tissue - tek oct ( optical cutting temperature ) compound . tissue samples collected in oct were cut at between 5 and 7 μm using a cryostat and sections fixed in acetone for 20 minutes before being assessed for growth factor staining by immunohistochemistry . two sections were cut from each section at least 10 μm apart and were rehydrated with phosphate buffered saline ( pbs ), blocked with 10 % skimmed milk powder for 30 minutes at room temperature and washed 2 - 3 times with pbs . one hundred microliters of the diluted primary antibodies ( rabbit anti - tgfβ2 polyclonal antibody 1 : 200 , rabbit anti - igf - 1 polyclonal antibody 1 : 200 ) was added to each porcine skin section and left for 1 hour at room temperature before being washed 2 - 3 times with pbs . one hundred microliters of the diluted secondary antibody ( biotinylated anti - rabbit igg ) 1 : 500 was added to each section and left for a further 1 hour at room temperature before being washed off with 2 - 3 times pbs and streptavidin - cy3 ( 1 : 300 ) was added to the sections for 40 minutes at room temperature . finally the sections were washed with pbs and mounted in immu - mount and examined using a fluorescent microscope . quantitation was performed by capturing 3 complete fields of view of the skin from each of the two sections from each sample . using sigmascan software ( jandel scientific software ), the average intensity of the fluorescence in the epidermis and dermis in each field was determined together with the average background intensity . the final intensity measurement ( represented as integrated optical density , iod ) reflects the average intensity in the measured area ( epidermis or dermis ) minus the background for each field , with up to 6 fields combined to provide the iod for each sample . igf - i and tgfβ2 are components of bmf - 1 and can be detected in skin using immunohistochemical detection ( fig3 a ). after 30 minutes , the immunohistochemical detection of both igf - i and tgfβ2 was increased in skin treated with topically formulated bmf - 1 preparations ( fig3 a panels b and d respectively ) compared to control skin treated with emulsion only ( fig3 a panels a and c ). fig3 b shows the results of the quantitation of the igf - i and tgfβ2 immunofluorescence observed in the epidermis and dermis of skin treated with two emulsions ( a and b ) containing 20 mg / g bmf - 1 ( closed bars ) compared to emulsion alone ( open bars ). quantitation of igf - i immunofluorescence was performed on samples taken 30 minutes after the skin was treated with topically formulated bmf - 1 whereas quantitation of tgfβ2 immunofluorescence was performed on samples taken 90 minutes after treatment . fig3 b confirms the observations shown in fig3 a ( panels a and b ) and demonstrates that igf - i immunofluorescence was increased in both the epidermis and dermis 30 minutes after the skin was treated with topically formulated bmf - 1 preparations . although tgfβ2 immunofluorescence was found to increase 30 minutes after the skin was treated with topically formulated bmf - 1 ( fig3 a , panels c and d ), maximal changes were found to have occurred after 90 minutes . fig3 b demonstrates that tgfβ2 immunofluorescence was increased in both the epidermis and dermis after the skin was treated with topically formulated bmf - 1 . these results indicate that both igf - i and tgfβ2 have penetrated the skin from the formulation . these studies demonstrate that growth factors contained within the bmf - 1 preparations translocate into the skin and are detected in both the epidermal and dermal layers thus confirming the cutaneous availability of formulated bmf - 1 . bmf - 1 was formulated into 5 base topical emulsions on a weight for weight basis with incorporation of approximately 2 mg and 20 mg bmf - 1 per gram of emulsion . both control emulsion and topically formulated bmf - 1 ( 2 and 20 mg / g ) was applied to prepared porcine skin ( washed and shaved ) at an application rate of approximately 0 . 05 g / cm 2 . material was applied by measured syringe ( 250 μl / 5 . 0 cm 2 marked area ) and rubbed into the skin with a cotton bud until minimal residue was evident on the surface of the skin . repeated applications were performed at 3 or 4 day intervals for four weeks . four weeks after the first application , and three days after the last application of topically formulated material , full thickness 6 mm punch biopsies were harvested from both control and treated areas , fixed in 10 % formalin and processed for histology . wax embedded sections from each biopsy were stained with haematoxylin and eosin and assessed in a blinded fashion by scoring the relative degree of dermal cellularity . following repeated application over four weeks , skin treated with topically formulated bmf - 1 ( 20 mg / g ) was observed to have increased dermal cellularity scores compared to controls ( fig4 ), reflecting an increase in the number of fibroblasts in treated skin . as loose connective tissue is more cellular and contains more reticular collagen ( type iii ) than dense connective tissue , an increase in the cellularity score and a increase in type iii collagen ( example 9 ) demonstrates an increase in the deposition of new loose connective tissue in the dermis . bmf - 1 was formulated into sorbolene cream on a weight for weight basis with incorporation of approximately 2 and 20 mg bmf - 1 per gram of emulsion . both control cream and topically formulated bmf - 1 ( 2 and 20 mg / g ) was applied to prepared porcine skin ( washed and shaved ) at an application rate of approximately 0 . 05 g / cm 2 . material was applied by measured syringe ( 250 μl / 5 . 0 cm 2 marked area ) and rubbed into the skin of 2 pigs with a cotton bud until minimal residue was evident on the surface of the skin . repeated applications were performed at 3 or 4 day intervals for two weeks . two weeks after the first application , and three days after the last application of topically formulated material , full thickness 6 mm punch biopsies were harvested from both control and treated areas and snap frozen in tissue - tek oct compound . two 10 μm sections from each tissue sample collected in oct were cut using a cryostat and sections were fixed in acetone for 25 minutes before being assessed for collagen type iii staining by immunohistochemistry . the sections were rehydrated with phosphate buffered saline ( pbs ), blocked with 10 % skimmed milk powder for 40 minutes at room temperature and washed 2 - 3 times with pbs . one hundred microliters of the diluted primary antibodies ( rabbit anti - collagen iii polyclonal antibody 1 : 200 ) was added to each porcine skin section and left for 1 hour at room temperature before being washed 2 - 3 times with pbs . one hundred microliters of the diluted secondary antibody ( biotinylated anti - rabbit igg 1 : 200 ) was added to each section and left for a further 1 hour at room temperature before being washed off with 2 - 3 times pbs . streptavidin - cy3 ( 1 : 200 ) was added to the sections for 40 minutes at room temperature . finally the sections were washed with pbs and mounted in immu - mount and examined using a fluorescent microscope . two sections from each tissue sample were analysed using an olympus - vanox photomicroscope and image analysis software . the fluorescence intensity ( integrated optical density ) was measured in the dermis of each section and normalised using the fluorescence value from a negative control ( fig5 ). four fields of view were captured from each of the papillary and reticular areas of the dermis . the average intensity values per sample were then combined to provide comparative results . following repeated application over two weeks , topically formulated bmf - 1 increased the dermal content of collagen type iii as shown in fig5 . compared to skin treated with sorbolene cream only , twice weekly exposure to topically formulated bmf ( 2 and 20 mg / g ) increased dermal collagen iii immunofluorescence ( fig5 ). these results demonstrate that topically formulated bmf - 1 stimulates new collagen deposition ( type iii collagen ) by dermal fibroblasts in skin . bmf - 1 product stimulates collagen mrna synthesis and inhibits matrix - metalloproteinase 1 ( mmp - 1 ) mrna synthesis by human skin fibroblast cells human skin fibroblasts were seeded into t75 tissue culture bottles ( cellstar , greiner gmbh , frickenhausen ) and grown until confluent before being starved overnight in complete growth medium containing 0 . 1 % fbs ( basal medium ). cells were then exposed to concentrations of bmf - 1 ( 0 - 2 . 0 mg / ml ) in basal medium for 48 hours . cell pellets were harvested for total rna extraction using a quickprep rna extraction kit according to the manufacturers instructions ( amersham pharmacia biotech , piscataway n . j .). the rna extracted from each bottle was used as a single replicate and gene expression analysed by standard northern blot procedures of 4 replicate experiments . briefly , rna was quantitated spectrophotometrically and 10 micrograms from each sample was size fractionated by electrophoresis on a 1 % agarose - formaldehyde gel , then transferred to a hybond - n nylon membrane ( amersham , buckinghamshire , england ) and fixed by uv cross - linking ( uv stratalinker 1800 , stratagene , la jolla , usa ). membranes were probed with antisense riboprobes to human pro - collagen iii , pro - collagen i , matrix - metalloproteinase 1 ( mmp - 1 ) and gapdh ( a constitutively expressed control gene ). for the mmp - 1 and gapdh hybridisations , pre - hybridisation was carried out at 65 ° c . for 4 hours in 50 % formamide , 5 × sspe , 5 × denhardts , 0 . 1 % sds and 100 μg / ml sheared salmon sperm dna . for the collagen hybridisations , ultrahyb ( ambion , austin , tex .) was used as the hybridisation solution . riboprobes were generated using either a t7 or sp6 transcription kit ( promega , madison , usa ) and [ α - 32p ] utp ( geneworks , thebarton , australia ), and were used at a final concentration of 10 6 incorporated counts / ml hybridisation solution . hybridisation was performed for 16 hours using the conditions described for the prehybridisation . membranes were washed under high stringency conditions ; three times with 3 × ssc - 0 . 1 % sds at room temperature , three times with 2 × ssc - 0 . 1 % sds at 68 ° c ., followed by two washes with 0 . 5 × ssc - 0 . 1 % sds and 0 . 1 × ssc - 0 . 1 % sds at 68 ° c . the membranes were exposed to film ( hyperfilm , amersham , buckinghamshire , england ) at − 80 ° c . for up to 24 hours . for quantitation , membranes were exposed to phosphorimage plates which were scanned by a phosphorimage reader ( fuji bas , japan ) with the integrated optical density ( iod ) of bands measured using imagemaster vds software ( pharmacia biotech , castle hill , australia ). to control for the amount of rna loaded and to ensure changes in mrna expression reflected specific regulation of the probed gene , the pro - collagen iii , i and mmp - 1 signal was normalised using the gapdh - iod from the same sample . representative autoradiograms of collagen i , iii and mmp - 1 probed rna are shown in fig6 a together with the respective gapdh autoradiogram for each sample . fig6 b shows the graphical representation of the combined results of 4 replicates for each treatment which are represented as the fold change from the respective rna expression in cells treated under basal conditions . treating cells with 0 . 2 mg / ml bmf - 1 induced collagen i and iii mrna expression by at least 2 - fold compared to basal conditions . cells treated with 2 . 0 mg / ml bmf - 1 also showed increased collagen mrna expression . the effects of bmf - 1 is considered to be a direct effect on gene induction and does not just reflect an increase in cell number . in contrast , bmf - 1 had a dose dependent inhibitory effect on the expression of mmp - 1 mrna ( fig6 a and 6b ). as mmp - 1 is an important enzyme in the degradation of the collagen molecule , this result implies that not only does bmf - 1 stimulate collagen synthesis , it also inhibits its degradation . as collagen turnover is a dynamic process occurring in skin , the relative effect on synthesis and degradation is an important consideration . the ability of bmf - 1 to both stimulate synthesis and inhibit degradation ensures treatment of skin by bmf - 1 will ultimately result in an overall net increase in collagen deposition . this is confirmed by the results shown in fig2 and 5 where the amount of collagen measured was similar in cells ( fig2 ) or skin ( fig5 ) treated with low or high levels of bmf - 1 . although the results shown in fig6 b indicate that higher doses of bmf - 1 do not stimulate as much rna synthesis as lower doses , the finding that bmf - 1 also markedly inhibits the synthesis of the degradative enzyme mmp - 1 in a dose dependant manner demonstrates the degradation of collagen by mmp - 1 is reduced as the dose of bmf - 1 is increased . moreover , this would result in a similar net balance of collagen deposition by skin fibroblasts at each bmf - 1 dose as shown in fig2 and 5 . thus bmf - 1 directly stimulates collagen synthesis by upregulating both collagen i and iii gene expression and inhibits its degradation by down - regulating the expression of mmp - 1 . bmf - 1 and bmf - 2 product stimulate collagen mrna synthesis by human skin fibroblast cells human skin fibroblasts were seeded into t75 tissue culture bottles ( cellstar , greiner gmbh , frickenhausen ) and grown until confluent before being starved overnight in complete growth medium containing 0 . 1 % fbs ( basal medium ). cells were then exposed to 0 . 1 mg / ml of bmf - 1 or bmf - 2 in basal medium for 48 hours . cell pellets were harvested for total rna extraction using a quickprep rna extraction kit according to the manufacturers instructions ( amersham pharmacia biotech , piscataway n . j .). the rna extracted from each bottle was used as a single replicate and gene expression analysed by standard northern blot procedures . assessment of collagen i and iii expression was performed as described in example 10 . representative autoradiograms of collagen i and iii probed rna are shown in fig7 a together with the respective gapdh autoradiogram for each sample . fig7 b shows the combined results of replicates for each treatment which are represented as the fold change from the respective rna expression in cells treated under basal conditions . treating cells with both bmf - 1 and bmf - 2 induced collagen i and iii mrna expression by up to 2 - fold compared to basal conditions . although there was a tendency for bmf - 2 to have a greater effect on collagen expression ( fig7 a ), the overall results were comparable ( fig7 b ). as mentioned in example 10 the stimulation of collagen rna by bmf - 1 and bmf - 2 is considered to be the result of a direct effect on gene induction and not just reflect an increase in cell number . thus bmf - 1 and bmf - 2 can directly stimulate collagen synthesis by upregulating both collagen i and iii gene expression . methodologies used to study the effectiveness of basic milk factors as a therapeutic and preventive treatment for skin damage the invention may be used to treat skin damage caused by uv radiation as a result of sun exposure . the person skilled in the art will readily be able to investigate the claimed invention to treat skin damage caused by sun exposure . for example , hairless mice exposed daily to a measured minimal erythematous dose ( med ) of solar simulated uv irradiation have been widely used as an animal model of accelerated skin damage or photoageing ( maloney et al 1992 ). this suitable model would be used to induce skin damage followed with the application of formulated bmf - 1 or bmf - 2 ( collectively referred to as “ bmf ”) either alone or in combination with supplementary active ingredients to the damaged skin . the ability of the treatment to repair or renew the skin to a more normal structural and functional state as well as prevent further deterioration of the skin would be determined . for example , to test the ability of the invention to repair photo - damaged skin , after a period of acclimatisation ( approximately one week ) skh - 1 hairless mice will be exposed to a minimal erythematous dose ( med ) to their whole body of mixed uva and uvb radiation five times a week . this is the approximate minimum dose which causes the mouse skin to turn pink 24 hours after irradiation . after a period of continued irradiation up to and including 20 weeks , when signs of skin damage are generally detectable , irradiation will be discontinued and the mice will receive a daily topical application of formulated bmf product on the dorsum at a dose rate within the range of 0 . 001 - 200 mg / cm 2 . preferably , at specified times after the commencement of treatment , animals will be euthanased by the administration of a lethal dose of sodium pentobarbitone . various methods are known in the art for assessment and characterisation of the effectiveness of the repair of skin damage . for example , the skin is collected for analysis using histological , immunohistochemical and biochemical methods ( including hydroxyproline , mrna and metalloproteinase assays ) to determine the ability of bmf containing formulations to repair the uv - damaged skin . on the basis of the results shown in examples 2 to 11 , the inventors expect that the invention used in this particular model would increase collagen synthesis and deposition and decrease matrix degradation by matrix - metalloproteinases resulting in improved dermal structure and function compared to the skin from matched control treated animals . the inventors also expect that the invention would enhance skin keratinocyte and fibroblast cell proliferation and viability . the inventors also expect that the invention would conceivably reduce wrinkling , skin sagging and other photoageing related changes that occur in the dermis of the skin . moreover , the inventors expect the invention would improve epidermal structure and viability and thus restore the skin to a normal healthy and youthful appearance . further , suitable methods are known in the art to investigate the ability of the invention to prevent skin damage . for example , mice would receive a daily topical application of formulated bmf product on the dorsum at a dose rate within the range 0 . 001 - 200 mg / cm 2 immediately after being exposed to uv - irradiation ( med ). this treatment would be continued for up to 20 weeks and at various times animals would be anaesthetised and then euthanased . various methods are known in the art for assessment and characterisation of the effectiveness of the prevention of skin damage . preferably , the skin of bmf treated mice is compared to the skin of control treated mice using standard histological , immunohistochemical and biochemical analysis . on the basis of the results shown in examples 2 to 11 , the inventors expect that the invention used in this particular model would reduce the signs of skin damage . methodologies used to study the effectiveness of basic milk factors as a cosmetic to enhance the appearance of skin the invention may be used as a cosmetic to enhance the appearance and vitality of human skin . the person skilled in the art will readily be able to investigate the claimed invention to improve the cosmetic appearance of human skin . for example , a number of clinical indices can be used to determine the ability of topically applied cosmetics to enhance skin cosmesis . these include subjective measurements of skin wrinkling , skin appearance and vitality , skin dryness and scaliness , skin sensitivity , skin thickness and skin fragility . more objective measurements can also be taken such as measuring skin thickness by callipers or ultra - sound and measuring skin moisture kinetics by determining epidermal hydration using a corneometer and transepidermal water loss ( tewl , a measurement of transcutaneous water loss ) using a tewameter . similarly skin surface roughness can be measured by taking a natural negative impression of the skin surface using dental impression material and analysing the impressions with a profilometer . also , the elastic properties of the skin can be assessed using an uniaxial extensometer . for example , to test the ability of the invention to produce desirable cosmetic effects on human skin , topical application of formulated basic milk factors to the skin , at any site requiring cosmetic improvement , would be performed at a dose rate within the range of 0 . 001 - 200 mg / cm 2 and at specified application frequencies ranging from daily to weekly to monthly . preferably , before the commencement of treatment and at specified times after the commencement of treatment , various methods are known in the art for assessment and characterisation of the effectiveness of cosmetics to improve the appearance and vitality of human skin would be applied . for example , measurements of skin wrinkling , skin appearance and vitality , skin dryness and scaliness , skin sensitivity , skin thickness , skin fragility , skin water kinetics and skin elasticity would be used to determine the ability of basic milk factor containing formulations to improve skin cosmesis . on the basis of the results shown in examples 2 to 11 , the inventors expect that the invention would improve the appearance and vitality of skin , thus restoring skin with an aged appearance to a more normal healthy and youthful appearance . methodologies used to study the effectiveness of basic milk factors as a treatment of skin damage caused by cutaneous resurfacing the invention may be used as a treatment of skin damage caused by cutaneous resurfacing . the person skilled in the art will readily be able to investigate the claimed invention to improve the outcome of skin regeneration following cosmetic procedures using high - energy pulsed laser systems and electrosurgical coablation . for example , cutaneous resurfacing is the cosmetic procedure of choice for the correction of photodamaged skin , photo - induced rhytides , dyschromias , the amelioration of scars and for skin recontouring . cutaneous resurfacing employs high - energy pulsed lasers of the carbon dioxide ( co 2 ), erbium : yttrium - aluminum - garnet ( er : yag ) or neodymium : yttrium - aluminum - garnet ( nd : yag ) variety or electrosurgical systems for coablation techniques . despite their effectiveness and utility , cutaneous resurfacing techniques are also associated with some unwanted side effects that occur as a result of the repair processes stimulated by the procedures in damaged skin . for example , to test the ability of the invention to improve the outcome of human skin regeneration following cosmetic procedures using high - energy pulsed laser systems and electrosurgical coablation topical application of formulated basic milk factors to the skin , at the site of the procedure , would be performed at a dose rate within the range of 0 . 001 - 200 mg / cm 2 and at specified application frequencies ranging from daily to weekly . preferably , before the commencement of treatment and at specified times after the commencement of treatment , various methods are known in the art for assessment and characterisation of the effectiveness of treatments to improve the appearance of resurfaced human skin would be applied . for example , measurements of skin wrinkling , skin appearance , skin thickness , skin fragility and skin elasticity would be used together with more specific determinations of erythema , edema , hyperpigmentation , delayed hypopigmentation and hypotrophic scar formation to determine the ability of bmf containing formulations to improve the rejuvenation of skin by cutaneous resurfacing procedures . on the basis of the results shown in examples 2 to 12 , the inventors expect that the invention would improve the cosmetic outcome of skin resurfacing procedures , thus restoring skin more quickly to a more normal healthy and youthful appearance . it will be apparent to the persons skilled in the art that while the invention has been described in some detail for the purposes of clarity and understanding , various modifications and alterations to the embodiments and methods described herein may be made without departing from the scope of the inventive concept disclosed in this specification . references cited herein are listed on the following pages , and are incorporated herein by this reference . bergfeld w f . cosmetic use of alpha - hydroxy acids . cleveland clinic j . med . 1997 64 : 327 - 329 . clark r a f . 1995 . wound repair : overview and general considerations . the molecular and cellular biology of wound repair , 2 nd edition , r . a . f . clarke , editor . plenum press , new york , pp 3 . gilchrest b a , a review of skin ageing and its medical therapy . br . j . dermatol . 1996 135 : 867 - 875 . maloney s j , et al . the hairless mouse model of photoaging : evaluation of the relationship between dermal elastin , collagen , skin thickness and wrinkles . 1992 photochem . and photobiol . 56 ( 4 ): 505 - 511 . mast b a . 1992 . the skin . in wound healing : biochemical and clinical aspects . cohen i k , diegelmann r f , and linblad w j , editors . saunders w b , philadelphia , 346 - 349 . oliver m h , harrison n k , bishop j e , cole p j , laurent g j . a rapid and convenient assay for counting cells cultured in microwell plates : application for assessment of growth factors . j . cell . sci . 1989 92 : 513 - 518 . orentreich n , and orentreich d . s . dermabrasion . clinics in plastic surgery . 2001 28 : 215 - 230 . van engeland m , ramaekers f . c . s , schutte b , and reutelingsperger c . p . m . a novel assay to measure loss of plasma membrane asymmetry during apoptosis of adherent cells in culture . cytometry 1996 24 : 131 - 139 .
this invention relates to a method for treating skin damage , comprising the step of administration of a pharmaceutical or dermatological composition of basic milk factors to the area of the skin of a subject in need of such treatment . the invention further relates to a method for cosmetically treating the aged appearance of skin . the skin damage may be the result of normal biological ageing , environmental factors , dermatological disorders , medical treatments , surgical treatments and / or medical conditions . the aged appearance of skin may be attributed to wrinkles , blemishes , sagging , hyperpigmentation , changes to skin thickness and / or a rough appearance . in a preferred embodiment , the subject in need of such treatment requires the enhancement of the youthful appearance of their skin . the invention further relates to compositions for the treated of these conditions .