TY - JOUR
T1 - Photodynamic therapy for acne vulgaris
T2 - A randomized, controlled, split-face clinical trial of topical aminolevulinic acid and pulsed dye laser therapy
AU - Orringer, Jeffrey S.
AU - Sachs, Dana L.
AU - Bailey, Evans
AU - Kang, Sewon
AU - Hamilton, Ted
AU - Voorhees, John J.
PY - 2010/3
Y1 - 2010/3
N2 - Background: There remains the need for more effective therapeutic options to treat acne vulgaris. Interest in light-based acne treatments has increased, but few randomized, controlled clinical trials assessing the value of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for acne have been reported. Aims: We sought to examine the efficacy of PDT using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and pulsed dye laser therapy in the treatment of acne. Patients/methods: We conducted a randomized, controlled, split-face, single-blind clinical trial of 44 patients with facial acne. Patients were randomized to receive three pulsed dye laser treatments to one side of the face after a 60-90 min ALA application time, while the contralateral side remained untreated and served as a control. Serial blinded lesion counts and global acne severity ratings were performed. Results: Global acne severity ratings improved bilaterally with the improvement noted to be statistically significantly greater in treated skin than in untreated skin. Erythematous macules (remnants of previously active inflammatory lesions) decreased in number in treated skin when compared with control skin and there was a transient but significant decrease in inflammatory papules in treated skin when compared with untreated skin. There were no other statistically significant differences between treated and untreated sides of the face in terms of counts of any subtype of acne lesion. Thirty percent of patients were deemed responders to this treatment with respect to improvement in their inflammatory lesion counts, while only 7% of patients responded in terms of noninflammatory lesion counts. Conclusions: PDT with the treatment regimen employed here may be beneficial for a subgroup of patients with inflammatory acne.
AB - Background: There remains the need for more effective therapeutic options to treat acne vulgaris. Interest in light-based acne treatments has increased, but few randomized, controlled clinical trials assessing the value of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for acne have been reported. Aims: We sought to examine the efficacy of PDT using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and pulsed dye laser therapy in the treatment of acne. Patients/methods: We conducted a randomized, controlled, split-face, single-blind clinical trial of 44 patients with facial acne. Patients were randomized to receive three pulsed dye laser treatments to one side of the face after a 60-90 min ALA application time, while the contralateral side remained untreated and served as a control. Serial blinded lesion counts and global acne severity ratings were performed. Results: Global acne severity ratings improved bilaterally with the improvement noted to be statistically significantly greater in treated skin than in untreated skin. Erythematous macules (remnants of previously active inflammatory lesions) decreased in number in treated skin when compared with control skin and there was a transient but significant decrease in inflammatory papules in treated skin when compared with untreated skin. There were no other statistically significant differences between treated and untreated sides of the face in terms of counts of any subtype of acne lesion. Thirty percent of patients were deemed responders to this treatment with respect to improvement in their inflammatory lesion counts, while only 7% of patients responded in terms of noninflammatory lesion counts. Conclusions: PDT with the treatment regimen employed here may be beneficial for a subgroup of patients with inflammatory acne.
KW - 5-aminolevulinic acid
KW - Acne vulgaris
KW - Photodynamic therapy
KW - Pulsed dye laser
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1473-2165.2010.00483.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1473-2165.2010.00483.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 20367670
AN - SCOPUS:77954363102
SN - 1473-2130
VL - 9
SP - 28
EP - 34
JO - Journal of cosmetic dermatology
JF - Journal of cosmetic dermatology
IS - 1
ER -