Improvement in scar volume, reduction in number of acne lesions in study involving Japanese patients
MONDAY, April 13, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Bipolar fractional radiofrequency (FRF) therapy appears to be effective for atrophic acne scars and acne among Japanese patients, according to a study published online April 9 in the Journal of Dermatology.
Chikako Kaminaka, M.D., from Wakayama Medical University in Japan, and colleagues evaluated the safety and efficacy of bipolar FRF therapy as a treatment for atrophic acne scars and acne vulgaris. Twenty-three Japanese patients were treated with a bipolar FRF system, undergoing five treatment sessions at one-month intervals. After the final treatment, patients were followed for three months.
The researchers observed marked improvements in scar volume among patients with mild scars. In 57.5 percent of the treated areas, the improvement was at least moderate. At each time point, the treated areas exhibited significantly fewer lesions compared with baseline (P < 0.05). At the end of the study there were significant improvements in patients’ assessments of the treatment outcomes and their quality of life. In addition, there were significant reductions noted in patients’ sebum levels, skin roughness, and scar depth.
“The findings of this study suggest that bipolar FRF treatment is effective against atrophic acne scars and acne in Japanese patients and has minimal side-effects,” the authors write.
The study was funded by JMEC.
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