To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: AAD: Early Study Shows Cool Laser Treatment Improves Acne Scars Appearance URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/202AAA.htm Doctor's Guide August 3, 2001
By Ed Susman Special to DG News ANAHEIM, CA -- August 3, 2001 -- "Cool" laser treatment of acne scars results in at least a 35 percent improvement for the patients in the pilot study. Researchers reported this finding at the summer scientific meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. Among the 14 patients who were studied in the trial, nine experienced better than a 30 percent improvement after four months, said Dr. Mitchel Goldman, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Diego. "When you get a 30 percent or better improvement in acne scars, a patient will take notice of that. We see about a 10 percent improvement with each treatment. When it gets to about 30 percent, the patients will often say, 'Hey, this is great'," Dr. Goldman said. "We had three patients who achieved a 50 percent improvement; three others with a 40 percent improvement and three more with a 30 percent improvement. Overall, the 14 patients showed a 35 percent improvement." Dr. Goldman used the 1320 nm Nd: Yag laser system -- developed by Cooltouch Corporation of Roseville, California -- in the study. The system causes mild irritation to the tissue beneath an acne scar, stimulating collagen growth which improves appearance by smoothing the depression made by the scar. The system has been approved for treating wrinkles. Patients undergoing the monthly treatments are now being observed for a six-month period. Dr. Goldman said that the effects of the treatment appear to continue improvement. "We were somewhat surprised that the effect continued after treatment. We know that in laser resurfacing, the healing process continues, but the Cooltouch system doesn't damage the skin as much as standard resurfacing. So we were a little surprised that the patients continued to improve," he said. The patients in the study will continue the treatments -- if necessary -- following the six-month observation period, Dr. Goldman said. The treatments are relatively inexpensive, he said, costing between US$250 to $500 depending upon the center; the treatments can be performed in less than 10 minutes, and the patients often can go back to normal activity within an hour. "We occasionally will have a patient who calls us in the morning and says his face is still red, but by the time they come to the office for evaluation, that redness has faded," Dr. Goldman said. Dr. Nicholas Lowe, clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, said, "It's a good procedure. the new model that Dr. Goldman uses is much more accurate. the device has shown that it can benefit people with all types of skin color." Dr. Lowe said additional studies as needed to see how many treatments are needed. "We don't know what the ideal treatment length is. It is likely to be something that has to be determined person-by-person," he said. The new system is designed to be almost foolproof in preventing thermal injury, Dr. Goldman said. The device won't operate unless all components used to prevent thermal injury are active, in place and within correct parameters. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.