Minimally invasive treatment temporarily improves acne

(HealthDay)—A single facial fractional radiofrequency microneedle (FRM) treatment temporarily reduces sebum secretion and reduces acne severity, according to a study published in the December issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.

Kyung Real Lee, M.D., from the Korea Dermatology Research Institute in Gyeonggi-do, and colleagues treated 20 patients with acne vulgaris with a single full-face treatment with an FRM device.

The researchers found that at week two there was a 30 to 60 percent reduction in casual sebum level and a 70 to 80 percent reduction in sebum excretion rate, which remained below baseline until week eight. Physician's global improvement scores showed maximal clinical improvement in acne severity and acne lesion count at week two, which returned to baseline in most patients at week eight. On average, patients' satisfaction scores were above 2 on a scale of 0 to 4. There were minimal adverse treatment effects.

"In conclusion, this study demonstrated a significant sebosuppressive effect of a single FRM treatment through objective assessment of sebum levels," Lee and colleagues write. "Although there was a temporary decrease in the acne lesion count after the treatment, the overall clinical improvement in acne during the follow-up was not significant."