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Summary of Clinical Studies
Using Blue light as an Acne Treatment
by Dr. Garrett Crawford, PhD

Acne PhotoClearing (APC^TM) Using a Novel, High-Intensity, Enhanced, Narrow-Band, Blue Light Source

A.R. Shalita, MD, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA; Y. Harth, MD, Elisha Hospital, Haifa, Israel; M. Elman, MD, Beit-Harofim, Holon, Israel
Clinical Application Notes (2001) 9: 1-4. (read research paper?)

General

The most common topical treatment for acne is topical application of benzoyl peroxide, often irritating to sensitive skin.  At least 40% of acne bacteria are insensitive to oral antibiotics, another common treatment.  Therapy with Accutane has been associated with severe side effects and is a costly treatment.  Topical and oral antibiotics require an extensive treatment period, three to four months.

Method

This study uses fluorescent tubes coated with metal-halides that enrich the white light with blue light. 

Bacteria were cultured from facial swabs before and after the treatment.  A comparison of the number of colonies was made to determine the effect of phototherapy directly on bacteria.

Patients with mild to moderate acne were for the number of non-inflammatory, inflammatory and total facial lesions.  Evaluations were made at the beginning, end and two weeks after the treatment. The treatment regimen was 8 bi-weekly treatments for ten minutes delivering ~20 mWatts/cm² of total blue light to the skin surface.

Results

There are two substantial peaks within the 407 – 420 nm wavelength range, which comprise less than 25% of the total output.    One of the blue peaks covers the range that is strongly absorbed by the bacterial porphyrins.  The conversion of the porphyrin to its activated state by 414 nm blue light is the basis for the killing of acne bacteria.

Bacterial colonies recovered from the faces of treated patients decline 500 to 10000 fold.  In the same period, on an untreated facial area, the colonies increased as much as another thousand fold.

Patients experienced a 60% decrease in the number of total lesions, and a similar decrement in inflammatory lesions over the treatment period, much faster than is seen by conventional topical or antibiotic treatments in patients that are responsive.  Patients treated with blue week continued to observe further decreases in the number of acne lesions at evaluation two weeks after treatment.  The final result was comparable to the results of antibiotic treatment, however achieved in a broader range of patients and in a much quicker time frame.

How This Study Relates to the Dermillume Pro1000

All the blue power output of Dermillume Pro1500 is focused on bacterial killing properties. The wavelength range 407 – 420 nm has become the standard of comparison, for the FDA. The wavelength of light that interacts with the bacterial porphyrins, resulting in bacterial kill, is 414 nm. Dermillume Pro1500 employs blue LEDS that generate a high intensity and tight bandwidth light centered on 414 nm.

The effect of the other high intensity wavelengths generated by fluorescent is unknown. 

The intensity of blue light that impacts the skin from the fluorescent tubes can be calculated from the reported information as 20 mWatt/cm².  Dermillume Pro delivers precisely the intensity of light reported by this study, at a usable distance of 4.5".

Dermillume Pro1500 is called Precision Light Therapy because the intensities and colors of the light meet the exacting clinical requirements for acne treatment. In contrast to blue light technologies that employ fluorescent tubes, no other wavelengths are generated.

This study also provides the guidance for the Dermillume Pro1000 treatment regime.  Dermillume Pro1500 provides the same intensity of light at the skin as the Shalita treatment.  The Dermillume Pro1500 treatment regimen is 8-biweekly treatments of 20 minutes each, in addition to normal face cleaning and aesthetician treatments. It is important for the client to commit to the full 4 week period without breaks. 

Other Blue Light Study Summaries - [#2]