Despite the misleading name, liver spots are barely related to the liver, but rather, they are associated with senescence. Senescence is a biological name used to refer to the aging process. It is a common ailment in people above forty years of age.
Lipofuscin
It manifests itself as superficial deposits, which are seen as brownish pigments known as lipofuscin that are deposited on the skin. Lipofuscin is a pigment that naturally occurs and appears both outside and inside the body and results from the wear and tear of the body. Both aging and ultraviolet radiation cause the human skin to slowly lose the ability to regenerate, thus resulting in black or brown blemishes referred to as liver spots on the surface of the skin.
Age and Environmental Factors
With the advancement of age, some signs that exhibit themselves on the skin include tags, bumps, light and dark spots. The primary categories are generally related to the changes in the skin pigment or skin growth. Liver spots result due to the defense mechanism of the skin against excessive exposure to the sun. Exposure to the sun for long periods of time while unprotected leads to this condition. This occurs when the pigments converge onto several areas in the body in an effort of protect the skin, resulting in a brown uneven patch.
Effects of Oxidation from the Sun
Most changes in the skin pigment result from oxidation that takes place at an early age. Pigments are produced on melanocyte sites, which are responsible for providing the coloring of the skins. Oxidation from the sun affects melanocytes. This then creates a condition, which causes a pigment cluster or in extreme cases, a complete pigment loss on a particular skin area. Senile Lentigines and Lentigos are other names for liver spots that result from pigment loss. These are usually dark pigment portions on the skin in form of pigment clusters and are common after attaining age of forty. They usually occur on the forearms, face shoulder, forehead and back arm area, where there is exposure to the radiation from the sun. They may be painless and harmless, but they affect the cosmetic appearance of the skin. Liver spots may appear on the legs, abdomen and other areas of the body, which hardly ever receive any exposure to the sun. Since this is rather unusual, it could be attributed as a warning to the change in the pigment of the skin.