Laser Treatments May Clear Acne

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I know some of us have a bit of acne with our rosacea, so I thought

the below article from June 2002 Skin and Allergy News would be

helpful.

Take care,

Matija

Sebaceous glands targeted

Active Acne Cleared With Four Laser Treatments

It's still unknown if the same results can be achieved on larger

treatment areas.

Walsh

New York Bureau

ATLANTA — Selective dermal heating that targets the sebaceous glands

may represent a new way to clear active acneiform papules and

pustules.

In a study that included 27 men with mild to moderate acne, a series

of four treatments with a 1,450-nm laser resulted in 100% clearance

of both inflammatory and noninflammatory lesions, Dr. M.A. Blair said

at the annual meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and

Surgery.

Treatments took place at 3- to 4-week intervals. Fluences used ranged

from 16 to 18 J/cm2, and the device also provides 40 milliseconds of

cooling via a cryogen spray.

Treated lesions were located on the subjects' backs; nearby control

areas were treated with the spray cooling only.

Lesions were counted at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 weeks after the

final treatment.

At the control sites there was a slight increase in the number of

lesions by the study conclusion, while there were " zero lesions " by

24 weeks on the active treatment sites, said Dr. Blair of the Naval

Medical Center, San Diego.

But this 100% reduction " is definitely not happening all the time, "

said coinvestigator Dr. E. Victor Ross. " We're not sure what's going

to happen when we go to the face, to larger areas, and to larger

numbers of patients. "

Statistically significant decreases in lesion counts also were

observed at 6 and 12 weeks after the last treatment. At 6 weeks, the

average lesion count decreased from 5.43 to 0.43 on the active

treatment sites, compared with a nonsignificant decrease from 5 to

3.86 on the control sites.

The epidermis is left intact by the cooling device used during

treatment, while the heating of the dermis leads to photothermal

alterations in the sebaceous glands, Dr. Blair said.

In an ex vivo study of human skin, denaturation of collagen was

observed with dermal heating, he said. " We think what's happening is

that the injury to the sebaceous gland is collateral damage from the

collagen heating, " he said.

Histologic evaluation revealed mild necrosis of the sebocytes and

thermal damage around the follicular duct epithelium.

Side effects in the study were mild and transient. All patients

experienced erythema for approximately 6-12 hours.

Some patients with type IV skin also had mild blistering that

resulted in hyperpigmentation, which resolved in 6-9 weeks.

" Like most great discoveries, ours was serendipitous, " Dr. Blair

said. " We were using the laser in a different study and noticed on

histology that after treatment there were alterations in the

sebaceous glands. "