Source: Addiction  |  Posted 9 years ago

Patients with acne scars may be safely and effectively treated with a 585 nm flashlamp pulsed dye laser, according to United States researchers.

This selective nonablative wrinkle reduction laser treatment with a temporal profile and pulse duration expressly targets healthy microvasculature in the dermis.

Stimulating production of dermal collagen in this way is known to deliver cosmetic benefits, say investigators at the Department of Medicine and Dermatology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California.

It was not known, however, whether these laser treatments were clinically efficacious for improving the appearance of acne scarring.

In this prospective trial, a single laser treatment of both cheeks was given to ten patients with Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV and shallow to moderately deep, saucerized facial scars. Evaluations to assess the degree of clinical improvement in the subjects, whose mean age was 34.8 years, took place at 30, 60, 90, and 120 days.

This process included surface profilometry using silicone imprints to quantify the improvement, assessment of before and after photography by two independent observers and patient assessment surveys.

Visible cosmetic improvement was found in the treated areas of the whole group.

On average, the depth of the acne scars were shown by surface profilometry to be reduced by 47.8 percent. There were no reports of adverse effects of this treatment.