New Acne Treatments

Acne is a chronic and frustrating condition that is often resistant to various treatments. Topical products, antibiotics and especially Accutane have potential toxicities and are not suitable for everyone. We now have two exciting new treatments for acne that both involve light therapy:

Photodynamic therapy illustration

Blu-U Acne Light

The Blu-U is a non-ultraviolet light that kills acne causing bacteria. A series of 8, 15 min. treatments twice weekly for 1 month reduces acne lesions by 50-80%. There is no redness, no pain.

Vasculight

Our Lumrnis Vasculight Intense Pulsed Light (IPL®) flash lamp works in a similar fashion and may be more suitable for cystic acne. Pulses of light are delivered precisely to the acne lesions thereby killing the offending bacteria and reducing lesions. IPL has the added benefit of reducing redness and the brown pigment that often accompanies acne scarring and works to clear the skin in the same way our IPL photorejuvenation treatments do. Both can be combined with a new liquid medication called Levulan (20% aminolevulinic acid) that is applied to the skin for 30-60 minutes and then "photoactivated" by the light source. Referred to as Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) the result is an even more potent acne therapy that both kills the bacteria responsible for acne and reduces the size of oil glands and skin pores. In some cases we will photoactivate the Levulan with both the Blu-U and IPL.

How many PDT treatments are necessary?
This depends on the severity of the acne. Usually 3 treatments are required but occasionally more are necessary to treat more advanced cases of acne.

Am I red after treatment?
Typically, 2 or 3 days of redness can be expected following treatment, but this is generally very well tolerated. A mild topical steroid cream may be prescribed to reduce any discomfort.

Please visit: www.pdtherapy.com

ZENO Effective Acne Treatment

Zeno clears pimples in people with mild to moderate acne. It is a hand-held, portable electronic medical device that is clinically proven to make pimples disappear fast. Zeno is the most scientifically advanced and effective acne device available without a prescription.

The proprietary Zeno technology triggers a heat shock response in microorganisms that cause skin lesions, bringing about the self-destruction of those bacteria and allowing the skin to return to a healthy, normal state. In the case of acne, the P. acnes bacterium is the root cause of 90% of all acne pimples.

Zeno™ is a simple electronic product designed to safely heat an acne lesion to a pre-set temperature range known to generate heat shock response.

Heat shock response is a reaction bacteria have to heat whereby they transcript a number of genes and activate heat-shock proteins. These heat-shock proteins participate in the bacteria's death by causing the bacteria to self-destruct.

Pimples occur when excess skin oil and flaking skin plug the opening of a hair follicle and create the ideal environment for acne bacteria to grow. Precisely controlled heat applied for a specific period of time causes the bacteria to self-destruct. When the bacteria die, the pimple goes away.

Zeno applies a precisely controlled heat dose directly to the pimple through a metal pad. Learn about thermal treatment of acne pimples. Lean about acne and pimples.

Zeno can clear up a pimple in just hours. Two to three 2½-minute treatments spread over 24 hours are sufficient for most pimples. Often, only one treatment is needed. Most other medications can take days or even weeks to work.

Patients included in our clinical trials experienced little reaction to the low-level heat. Other than some temporary skin redness following a treatment cycle, no other adverse side effects were reported.