Melanotan II Sunless tanning the natural way helping to prevent skin damage.

 MT II Introduction.

Melanotan and Melanotan II are both analogs of the peptide hormone alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (a-MSH) that tend to induce skin tanning. Unlike melanotan though, Melanotan II Has the additional effect of increasing libido.

Both drugs were developed at the University of Arizona. Researchers there knew that one of the best defences against skin cancer was a natural tan which has been slowly developed over weeks.

They hypothesized that an effective way to reduce skin cancer rates in people would be to induce the body's natural tanning system to produce a protective tan prior to UV exposure.  They knew the body's naturally occuring hormone alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (a-MSH) causes melanogenesis, a process by which the skin's tanning cells (melanocytes) produce the skin's tanning pigment (melanin). With that knowledge they tested to see if administering this hormone to the body directly could be an effective method to cause sunless tanning. What they found was that while it appeared to work, natural alpha-MSH had too short a half life in the body to be practical as a theraputic drug. So they decided to try and find a more potent and stable alternative, one that would be more practical. 

After synthesizing and screening hundreds of molecules, the researchers headed by Dr Victor Hruby, found a peptide that after trials and testing seemed to not only be safe but also approximately 1,000 times more potent than natural a-MSH. They dubbed this new peptide Melanotan II. However this still has to be given as a subcutaneous injection.

Since their discovery, numerous studies dating back to the mid-1980's have shown no obvious toxic effects of Melanotan. Because skin cancer (melanoma) today is a major health concern, Melanotan II is expected to be used to combat it. Melanotan II will do this by stimulating the body's natural tanning mechanism to create a tan without first needing exposure to harmful levels of UV rediation. This in turn will reduce the potential for skin damage that can eventually lead to skin cancer. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDZmNFqcmQw

http://www.newstarget.com/001585.html