Acne and Low Intensity Laser Therapy

"When I was in high school and I had acne, I spent a lot of time sulking in my room. I was depressed. I was not happy. High school is hard enough, but having this problem and knowing that everyone is looking at you in the hallways ..." Adam Levine, Maroon 5

Acne Vulgaris

Acne vulgaris is a very prevalent skin disorder, affecting 35% to over 90% of adolescents and often continuing into adulthood. The disorder is not a serious and contagious situation but affects the patient's social and emotional aspect of life.

There is no shortage of acne treatments. People around the world are going to bed tonight with faces covered in toothpaste, antibiotics, salicylic acid, lemon slices and any number of other proven and unproven substances. And no wonder: Acne can affect practically anyone, from infants to adults. While it affects some people more than others and is most common during puberty, most people will have to deal with it at some point - or many points - in their lives.

One common (and sometimes effective) way to battle acne is with antibiotics, either in a pill or applied to the skin. Antibiotics work by destroying bacteria that have accumulated in the hair follicle to the point of damaging it. The drugs also calm the body's immune system response, reducing redness and swelling.

However, the bacteria that multiplies and grows in clogged follicles is a common skin bacteria, Propionibacterium acnes (or P. acnes), that's always present. Since its home is your skin, it doesn't like it when an invasive force comes on the scene to wipe it out. And, occasionally, the bacterium puts up a fight and builds resistance to the effects of antibiotics. People who use topical antibiotics irregularly - less than twice daily, every day - are at the highest risk of developing resistance to antibiotics.

Common over-the-counter treatments - such as benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid (often mixed together into one product) - can be effective, but they don't work for everyone. Benzoyl peroxide isn't an antibacterial, but in addition to drying the face, it helps reduce bacteria by oxygenating pores. It isn't without its downsides, though. It can cause extreme dryness and peeling, as can salicylic acid, which helps the follicles clear themselves of dead skin cells.

Low Intensity Laser Therapy

Another treatment has emerged in recent years, but this one battles acne with advanced technology: laser treatment.

Low Intensity Laser (light) therapy (LILT) is a fast-growing technology used to treat a multitude of conditions that require stimulation of healing, relief of pain and inflammation, and restoration of function. Although skin is naturally exposed to light more than any other organ, it still responds well to red and near-infrared wavelengths. The photons are absorbed by mitochondrial chromophores in skin cells. Consequently, electron transport, adenosine triphosphate nitric oxide release, blood flow, reactive oxygen species increase, and diverse signaling pathways are activated. Stem cells can be activated, allowing increased tissue repair and healing. In dermatology, LILT has beneficial effects on wrinkles, acne scars, hypertrophic scars, and healing of burns. LILT can reduce UV damage both as a treatment and as a prophylactic measure. In pigmentary disorders such as vitiligo, LILT can increase pigmentation by stimulating melanocyte proliferation and reduce depigmentation by inhibiting autoimmunity. Inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis and acne can also be managed. The non-invasive nature and almost complete absence of side effects encourage further testing in dermatology.

Study Shows How LILT Can Reduce Acne Breakouts and Scarring

There is evidence that low light intensity laser therapy (LILT) has a beneficial effect in the treatment of acne lesions. In this study, two different wavelengths of LILT (630 and 890 nm) were evaluated in treatment of acne vulgaris.

This very significant study was a single-blind randomized clinical trial. Patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris and age above 18 years and included were treated with red LILT (630 nm) and infrared LILT (890 nm) on the right and left sides of the face respectively, twice in a week for 12 sessions, and clinically assessed at baseline and weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8.

Twenty-eight patients participated in this study. Ten weeks after treatment, acne lesions were significantly decreased in the side treated by 630 nm LILT.

The study showed that LILT using 630-nm laser (red spectrum) significantly reduces active acne lesions after 12 sessions of treatment during 10 weeks follow-up. It seems that LILT in red spectrum is a safe therapeutic modality in treating facial acne vulgaris without any complication. The study concluded that red wavelength is safe and effective to be used to treat acne vulgaris by LILT.

Final Result:

• No acute or chronic lesions
• Skin relatively normal in appearance and smooth to touch
• Patients extremely gratified with result

Can Acne Be Prevented?

Acne affects 90 per cent of adolescents, but the important thing to realise is that it isn't just a teenage disease, it's a disease that can span right the way through to adult life. Most sufferers get acne in their teens or early 20s, with the peak risk years between 16 and 20. 

The majority get over it within a few years, but for some the problem is life long, and as many as one person in 25 over the age of 40 still has acne.

Acne can be made worse by emotional stress, fatigue, and the use of some cosmetics. 

Although acne cannot be prevented, its impact can be reduced by:

• not wearing headbands or chinstraps
• not using oil based soaps and cosmetics
• not constantly touching the face and thereby spreading infection, and
• not getting sunburnt can all help.

Oily and humid environments are best avoided, and so, too, is the teenage habit of squeezing the spots.

"At Osteoklinika we have had recent, significant progress in the management of acne vulgaris." - Andrew Subieta 

At Osteoklinika we use the *BioFlex Low Intensity Laser Therapy system, the most advanced and sophisticated laser system on the global market today. 
We treat a number of dermatological conditions such as:

• Eczema
• Psoriasis
• Herpes (Post-herpetic Neuralgia)
• Burns
• Acne

*Laser Therapy is an accepted modality by Health Canada and the BioFlex system has a Medical Device License, meaning Health Canada has approved it for the treatment of soft tissue injuries.

For more information, Andrew Subieta and the clinic staff can be reached at Osteoklinika Pain Management & Rehabilitation 905.660.8810.  Also, please check our website www.osteoklinika.com LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+ for more information about Bio-Structural Integration™.