Acne Medications

Dermatol Surg. 2009 Mar 20; Niwa AB, Mello AP, Torezan LA, Osório NBACKGROUND Hypertrophic scars are common problems and represent a challenging condition to treat. Fractional photothermolysis has been effective at resurfacing photodamaged skin, acne scars, and atrophic scars, but there are few reports on its use for hypertrophic scars. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of 1,550-nm erbium-doped fiber laser treatment of hypertrophic scars in eight patients. METHODS Eight patients (skin phototypes II-IV) with hypertrophic scars received monthly treatments with a 1,550-nm erbium-doped fiber laser. Energy settings ranged from 35 to 50 mJ, and eight to 10 passes were applied with treatment levels 6 to 8. An independent physician evaluator assessed the treatment response by comparing pre- and posttreatment clinical photographs using a quartile grading scale (grade 1, 75%=near total improvement. RESULTS At four weeks after the last treatment session, a mean grade of 2.4 was achieved based on an independent physician's clinical assessment. Improvement in pigmentation occurred in all hyperpigmented scars. CONCLUSION Hypertrophic scars can be effectively and safely improved with 1,550-nm erbium-doped fiber laser treatment. The authors have indicated no significant interest with commercial supporters.

J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2009 Apr 24; 1-7Leheta TMBackground: Acne vulgaris is a disease of the pilosebaceous unit characterized by the development of inflammatory and/or non-inflammatory lesions that may progress to scars. The increase of bacterial resistance and adverse effects, the teratogenicity of retinoids and lack of response to usual therapies has led to the investigation of new therapeutic alternatives. Objective: To evaluate the role of the pulsed dye laser in the treatment of acne in comparison with other topical therapeutic modalities. Methods: We studied 45 patients with mild to moderate acne. Patients were randomly divided into three groups: group A received treatment with pulsed dye laser therapy every 2 weeks, group B received topical preparations and group C was subjected to chemical peeling using trichloroacetic acid 25%. Results: At 12 weeks of treatment, there was a significant improvement of the lesions within each group with the best results seen in group A; however, no significant difference was detected between the three treatment protocols after the treatment period. Remission in the follow-up period was significantly higher in the first group. Conclusions: Pulse dye laser therapy mainly improves the inflammatory lesions of acne with few adverse effects.