Treatment of Acne Vulgaris

Abstract

In this study we have evaluated the use of blue light (peak at 415 nm) and a mixed blue and red light (peaks at 415 and 660 nm) in the treatment of acne vulgaris. One hundred and seven patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris were randomized into four treatment groups: blue light, mixed blue and red light, cool white light and 5% benzoyl peroxide cream. Subjects in the phototherapy groups used portable light sources and irradiation was carried out daily for 15 min. Comparative assessment between the three light sources was made in an observer-blinded fashion, but this could not be achieved for the use of benzoyl peroxide. Assessments were performed every 4 weeks. After 12 weeks of active treatment a mean improvement of 76% (95% confidence interval 66±87) in inflammatory lesions was achieved by the combined blue±red light phototherapy; this was significantly superior to that achieved by blue light (at weeks 4 and 8 but not week 12), benzoyl peroxide (at weeks 8 and 12) or white light (at each assessment). The final mean improvement in comedones by using blue±red light was 58% (95% confidence interval 45±71), again better than that achieved by the other active treatments used, although the differences did not reach significant levels. We have found that phototherapy with mixed blue±red light, probably by combining antibacterial and anti-inflammatory action, is an effective means of treating acne vulgaris of mild to moderate severity, with no significant short-term adverse effects.

Medical radiation exposure and breast cancer risk: Findings from the Breast Cancer Family Registry

“…42 Acne-related radiation has been associated with increased risks of several other cancers, including salivary gland cancer, 43,44 thyroid cancer, [45][46][47] and nonmelanoma skin cancer. [48][49][50] Concern about acne-related radiotherapy and breast cancer risk was raised as early as 1977, 51 as ionizing radiation was widely used to treat acne in the early 20th century, 52 and was recommended as an effective treatment for acne vulgaris as late as the 1960s. 53 In the present study, such treatments were administered as recently as 1981.…”

“…It has been estimated that some patients may have received a cumulative radiation dose of up to 10 Gy, although the dose absorbed by the breast would have been less. 51,52 It is possible that the observed association may be related to acne itself, a condition associated with androgen stimulation, rather than its treatment with radiation. There is some evidence that acne may be associated with increased breast cancer risk.…”

Acne Pathogenesis: History of Concepts

“…Reporting that Terramycin was highly beneficial in pustular acne, Andrews and Domonkos [218] asserted that it would become an ‘increasingly valuable remedy in severe pustular types of acne'. Robinson [219] showed that oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline and erythromycin were the drugs of choice to treat acne vulgaris and acne conglobata.…”

Acne and Antibiotics

“…10 The doses used have varied from 250-1000 mg/d. The treatment was effective when continued for at least eight weeks.…”