Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Intense pulsed light versus photodynamic therapy using liposomal methylene blue gel for the treatment of truncal acne vulgaris: a comparative randomized split body study

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archives of Dermatological Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Acne vulgaris is an extremely common skin condition. It often leads to negative psychological consequences. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) using intense pulsed light has been introduced for effective treatment of acne. The objective was to study the effect of PDT in truncal acne vulgaris using liposomal methylene blue (LMB) versus IPL alone. Thirty-five patients with varying degrees of acne were treated with topical 0.1 % LMB hydrogel applied on the randomly selected one side of the back, and after 60 min the entire back was exposed to IPL. The procedure was done once weekly for three sessions and patients were re-evaluated 1 month after the third session by two independent dermatologists. Acne severity was graded using the Burton scale. Patient satisfaction using Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) was recorded before and after treatment. On LMB-pretreated side, inflammatory acne lesion counts were significantly decreased by 56.40 % compared with 34.06 % on IPL alone. Marked improvement was seen on LMB-pretreated side in 11.5 % of patients compared with 2.8 % on IPL alone. There was a correlation between CADI score and overall improvement. Our study concluded that LMB-IPL is more effective than IPL alone, safe with tolerable pain in the treatment of acne vulgaris on the back. LMB-IPL is more effective than IPL alone, safe with tolerable pain in the treatment of acne vulgaris on the back.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Adityan B, Kumari R, Thappa D (2009) Scoring systems in acne vulgaris. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 75:323–326

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Bikowski J (2010) A review of the safety and efficacy of benzoyl peroxide (5.3 %) emollient foam in the management of truncal acne vulgaris. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol 3(11):26–29

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Chandrashekhar BS, Anitha M, Ruparelia M, Vaidya P, Aamir R, Shah S, Thilak S, Aurangabadkar S, Pal S, Saraswat A, Sanmukhani JJ (2015) Tretino in nanogel 0.025 % versus conventional gel 0.025 % in patients with acne vulgaris: a randomized, active controlled, multicentre, parallel group, phase IV clinical trial. J Clin Diagn Res 9(1):WC04–WC09

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Cooper A (1998) Systematic review of propionibacterium acnes resistance to systemic antibiotics. Med J Aust 169:259–261

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Del Rosso J (2007) Truncal acne vulgaris: the relative roles of topical and systemic antibiotic therapy. J Drugs Dermatol 6:148–151

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Dragicevic-Curic N, Fahr A (2012) Liposomes in topical photodynamic therapy. Expert Opin Drug Deliv 9:1015–1032

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Fadel M, Salah M, Samy N, Mona S (2009) Liposomal methylene blue hydrogel for selective photodynamic therapy of acne vulgaris. J Drugs Dermatol 8:983–990

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Feldman S, Careccia RE, Barham KL, Hancox J (2004) Diagnosis and treatment of acne. Am Fam Phys 69(9):2123–2130

    Google Scholar 

  9. Gold MH, Bradshaw VL, Boring MM et al (2004) The use of a novel intense pulsed light and heat source and ALA-PDT in the treatment of moderate to severe inflammatory acne vulgaris. J Drugs Dermatol 3(6 Suppl):S15–S19

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Hongcharu W, Taylor C, Chang Y, Aghassi D, Suthamjariya K, Anderson R (2000) Topical ALA-photodynamic therapy for the treatment of acne vulgaris. J Invest Dermatol 115:183–192

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Ibbotson S (2011) Adverse effects of topical photodynamic therapy. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed 27:116–130

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Itoh Y, Ninomiya Y, Tajima S, Ishibashi A (2001) Photodynamic therapy of acne vulgaris with topical delta-aminolaevulinic acid and incoherent light in Japanese patients. Br J Dermatol 144:575–579

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Jih M, Kimyai-Asadi A (2007) Laser treatment of acne vulgaris. Semin Plast Surg 21:167–174

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Kjeldstad B (1987) Different photo-inactivation mechanisms in propionibacterium acnes for near-ultraviolet and visible light. Photochem Photobiol 46:363

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Makrantonaki E, Ganceviciene R, Zouboulis C (2011) An update on the role of the sebaceous gland in the pathogenesis of acne. Dermato endocrinol 3(1):41–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Mei X, Shi W, Piao Y (2013) Effectiveness of photodynamic therapy with topical 5-aminolevulinic acid and intense pulsed light in Chinese acne vulgaris patients. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed 29(2):90–96

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Morton CA (2004) Photodynamic therapy for non-melanoma skin cancer and more. Arch Dermatol 140:116–120

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Rojanamatin J, Choawawanich P (2006) Treatment of inflammatory facial acne vulgaris with intense pulsed light and short contact of topical 5-aminolevulinic acid: a pilot study. Dermatol Surg 32:991–997

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Wainwright M, Smalley H, Flint C (2011) The use of photosensitisers in acne treatment. J Photochem Photobiol B 105:1–5

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Wiegell S, Wulf H (2006) Photodynamic therapy of acne vulgaris using methyl aminolaevulinate: a blinded, randomized, controlled trial. Br J Dermatol 154:969–976

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Yeung CK, Shek SY, Bjerring P, Yu CS, Kono T, Chan HH (2007) A comparative study of intense pulsed light alone and its combination with photodynamic therapy for the treatment of facial acne in Asian skin. Lasers Surg Med 39(1):1–6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Zeina B, Greenman J, Purcell W, Das B (2001) Killing of cutaneous microbial species by photodynamic therapy. Br J Dermatol 144:274–278

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dermatology and Venereology Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

    Nayera Hassan Moftah

  2. Dermatology and Venereology Department, Faculty of medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

    Shady Mahmoud Ibrahim

  3. Cairo Hospital for Dermatology and Venereology (Al-Haud Al-Marsoud), Cairo, Egypt

    Nadine Hassan Wahba

Authors
  1. Nayera Hassan Moftah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shady Mahmoud Ibrahim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nadine Hassan Wahba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shady Mahmoud Ibrahim.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Moftah, N.H., Ibrahim, S.M. & Wahba, N.H. Intense pulsed light versus photodynamic therapy using liposomal methylene blue gel for the treatment of truncal acne vulgaris: a comparative randomized split body study. Arch Dermatol Res 308, 263–268 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-016-1639-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-016-1639-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation