ACNE TREATMENT (Click on the images above to see larger and additional before/after images)

Austin Acne Treatment Procedures

Acne is caused by hormonal changes, for example, as children reach puberty the levels of androgens increase. This in turn may cause the sebaceous glands to secrete an oil that forms a solid white substance called sebum. During puberty, skin cells shed and mix with the sebum causing a blockage in the pore. A bacteria normally present in the skin, called P.acnes, multiplies in the clogged pore and results in inflammation. This inflammation can cause acne lesions such as blackheads, pimples, nodules and cysts.

MYTHS ASSOCIATED WITH ACNE

• Acne is not caused by eating certain foods. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that certain foods cause acne. A balanced healthy diet may however improve the texture of skin.
• Washing the area vigorously will not, on its own, clear acne. In fact it may cause further irritation and worsen the acne.
• Exposure to sunlight or Ultra Violet light has no proven effect on improving acne. In fact UV light has a risk of causing skin cancer and early ageing of the skin.
• Squeezing acne lesions is not recommended as this forces infected material deeper into the skin causing additional inflammation and possible scarring.

The newest treatment for acne is NLite. Proven to boost collagen levels in the skin, NLite has also proven very effective in clearing acne. By destroying the bacteria present in the skin the laser light can clear acne in as little as one session. Recently, Photodynamic Therapy has been used to enhance the results of the NLite Laser.

The FDA first approved the Nlite Laser for the treatment of wrinkles in September 2001, the first non-ablative laser to achieve market clearance. During the extensive clinical work undertaken to justify the use of NLite for the generation of new collagen in skin, collaborating physicians speculated regarding the potential of the technique for the treatment of active acne.

Acne is the commonest dermatosis to affect mankind, affects all ethnic groups, has an incidence of more than 90% in adolescents and has a strong family tendency particularly for severe and persistent disease. Acne is a disease of the pilosebaceous unit, and the commonest site is the face followed by shoulders, back, chest, neck, buttocks and legs. 70% of acne vulgaris sufferers undergo spontaneous remission after 4 to 5 years but within that time frame scarring may occur. 30% continue to suffer through to adult life with an incidence in women of 5% and men 1% at 40 years of age.

Conventional treatment has mainly focussed on long term topical and systemic drug therapy. Oral isotretinoin has become the treatment of choice for severe acne, however significant side effects have occurred.

Following the success of the Nlite laser in the treatment of wrinkles, and based on its proven ability to initiate a wound healing cascade, a new mechanism and approach to the treatment of acne was postulated. The hypothesized theory was that the Nlite has a dual mode of action, namely:

1. The p.acnes bacteria contain a natural photosensitizer, porphyrin, which has an absorption peak in the yellow region of the spectrum. A yellow laser could be used to target the p.acnes, activate the porphyrin and kill the bacteria.
2. As mentioned above, the acne is accompanied by significant inflammation, the microvasculature in the inflammation could be targeted in a similar manner to that for collagen generation and a wound healing cascade initiated.

Intuitively, one would expect the clinical outcome of the first mode of action to be relatively quick but short-lived. Research has shown that in the case of collagen, the second proposed mode of action remains influential for up to 6 months post treatment.

An extensive clinical study into the use of the Nlite to treat acne commenced in November 2001. That study, undertaken at the Imperial College School of Medicine in London, was directed by Dr Tony Chu, one of Europes’ leading experts in the pathogenesis and treatment of acne. The results of the study showed the following:

• Lesion counts decreased by an average of 57% 12 weeks after a single Nlite treatment;
• Acne severity decreased dramatically in 27 out of 31 treated patients;
• An improvement in the acne was seen two weeks post treatment and continued to improve up to 12 weeks;
• There were no incidences of side effects.

The FDA has approved the NLite laser for acne treatment.