topical vitamin c?

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anyone had any experience with this???

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Vitamin C Preparation Reduces Erythema of cea (9/21/2001)

R.B. Carlin, M.D. & C.S. Carlin

This article originally appeared in PCI Journal, www.pcijournal.com

Background

cea is a condition that, as skin care professionals, we are bound

to encounter at one time or another. Caused by such elements as sun

damage, hot and spicy foods and alcohol, it is defined as an

inflammatory dermatosis of the face that initially manifests itself

as facial erythema.

This transient appearance of erythema becomes more permanent over

time as common symptoms including telangiectasia, edema, pustules and

enlarged pores set in. These factors coupled with the emotional

strain of rosacea give us a need for an efficient treatment. Previous

studies have indicated that free-radical production is a cause of

rosacea. Due to its known antioxidant properties, the author has

chosen to study the efficacy of topical Vitamin C for the

inflammation that accompanies acne rosacea.

Methods

The topical Vitamin C product used was Cellex-C™ Eye Contour Cream

which contains 5% L-ascorbic acid. Moisturel® moisturizing lotion, a

cream of similar texture which is acknowledged for its anti-

inflammation properties was employed as the placebo. The study

population was composed of 12 people with varied degrees of rosacea.

The patients applied the Cellex-C to half of their face and Moisturel

to the other half of their face for three weeks in the morning. They

were allowed to continue with any other topical medications they had

been using and were also encouraged to apply sunscreen and make-up

during the day. Each side of the subject's face was split into four

sections, and the redness at each of these sites was graded on a

scale of 1-10. These measurements were taken prior to the application

of Cellex-C and then regularly throughout the three week period.

These results then underwent statistical analysis.

Results

As compared to the placebo side, statistical analysis confirmed that

there was significantly less redness and inflammation on the side

treated with the Cellex-C on the nose, cheek and face. There was not

a significant reduction in redness on the chin and forehead.

Nine of the 12 patient surveyed revealed that they noticed greater

change on the side treated with Cellex-C than the placebo side. There

were a few patients whose telangiectasia became more pronounced as

the erythema diminished. Of the successful patients, 6 had been

continuing other topical treatments for rosacea (i.e. MetroGel™,

Cleocin T™ and Retin-A™).

Discussion

The results indicated that Vitamin C preparations such as Cellex-C

are effective against the rosacea inflammation. They are very

effective when used in collaboration with other topical therapies.

Carlin and Carlin stress the importance of this and attempt to

isolate it from more commercial, less effective therapies.

These vitamin C therapies increase in their efficacy against redness

when used in conjunction with a sunscreen. Observations from friends

and families of two patients (who were unaware of the studies) stated

that the side of the face treated with the vitamin C preparation had

improved more than the side treated with the placebo. Future study

suggestions include investigating the long-term effects of vitamin C

reparations, the role of vitamin C preparation in anti-aging and the

efficacy of vitamin C products other than Cellex-C.