New Laser Treatment for Darker-Skinned Sufferers with Acne Scars

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - ST. LOUIS – Researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine are preparing to test whether a special kind of laser can improve acne scars on people with darker skin, whose scars have typically been quite difficult to treat.

Traditionally, physicians have treated acne scars by removing the surface of the skin with powerful lasers or deep chemical peels. There can be serious side effects, though, including a lengthy healing time and the possibility of infection. For people with darker skin, including African-Americans and Hispanics, there’s another significant downside: Virtually all develop skin discoloration.

In the clinical trial, dermatologists at SLU will see whether they can treat acne scars on darker-skinned patients with so-called non-ablative lasers – which bypass the surface of the skin and instead go deeper to stimulate collagen growth, which in turn helps smooth the surface of the skin. Non-ablative lasers are more gentle and have fewer risks than more powerful lasers, and they don’t require a lengthy healing period.

“This is breaking new ground, in that there’s been very little research published in this area,” said Natalie Semchyshyn, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. “Most of the studies involving non-ablative lasers for acne scarring have been done on patients with lighter skin – yet an increasing proportion of the population in the United States has darker skin tones.”

“We think it’s important to find out how much non-ablative lasers can help African-Americans and Hispanics who have acne scars,” Semchyshyn added.

The study, which will last 18 months, seeks to enroll people between the ages of 13 and 70 who have naturally darker skin tones and mild to severe facial acne scars that are pitted or indented, including on the cheeks.
Patients enrolled in the abstraction cannot accept taken Accutane, an articulate medication acclimated to amusement astringent acne, or accept had added skin-resurfacing procedures, including corrective fillers, aural the accomplished 12 months. Nor can they be abundant or breast-feeding.

In addition, patients cannot accept a history of keloids, which are an overgrowth of tissue at the armpit of a healed bark injury.

At no cost, participants in the abstraction will abide six treatments with a non-ablative laser, spaced about a ages apart. They’ll additionally be accustomed concrete exams, sunscreen balm and contemporary medications if needed.

People who accommodated the abstraction belief and who are absorbed in acquirements added should acquaintance abstraction coordinator Rosemary King of the SLU administration of dermatology at 314-256-3436, or at kingrm@slu.edu.

Established in 1836, Saint Louis University Academy of Medicine has the acumen of application the aboriginal medical amount west of the Mississippi River. The academy educates physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides bloom affliction on a local, civic and all-embracing level. Analysis at the academy seeks fresh cures and treatments in bristles key areas: cancer, alarmist disease, heart/lung disease, crumbling and academician disease, and communicable disease.