Clinical Studies

The Treatment of acne vulgaris with a novel device that uses
Gallium-Nitride diode light

By: Professor Harryono Judodihardjo, Medical Director, Cellite Clinic Ltd, Cardiff.

1. Aim

The aim of this study was to assess the clinical improvement of acne vulgaris after treatment with a device using Gallium Nitride diode.

2. Introduction

Acne vulgaris is a disease of the pilosebaceous unit, which causes spots, especially on the face, shoulders and upper back. It tends to begin at puberty, and although most sufferers outgrow it within a few years, it may carry on for life.However, if it is left untreated acne vulgaris can very often lead to scarring. Therefore even though acne vulgaris is a self limiting disease it must be treated early to prevent the formation of scars.

In the market today, there are many treatments of acne available but all of them have the side effect that can be unacceptable to the patient. Therefore, the quest continues to find out better treatments.

Propionibacterium acnes (P Acne) are the bacteria that are associated with the acne formation. It is known that P Acne produces a chemical known as Porphyrin to help with its metabolism. It is also known that Porphyrin is a chemical that changes its molecular structure by exposure to a certain light. Therefore by shining light directly at the P Acne with a certain wavelength it is possible to change the Porphyrin molecule that will then upset P Acne metabolism and kill it.

Gallium-Nitride diode was selected in this device because it produces light at a wavelength that is at the peak absorption curve of Porphyrin. Therefore exposing P Acne to low energy light produced by Gallium-nitride diode should be sufficient enough to kill the bacteria and thus clear the acne.

3. Study Design

This was an open prospective study involving 6 patients recruited from the Cellite Clinic Ltd.

3.1 Inclusion criteria

• Males and females with active mild to moderate acne vulgaris on the face.
• Healthy subjects with no significant concurrent illness.
• Those who have verbally agreed to join the study.

4. Methods

4.1 Pre-study assessment

Before commencing the study, the following procedures were carried out:

• Determining if the subject fulfills the inclusion criteria.
• Obtaining verbal consent.
• Taking a brief medical history to determine the subjects sustainability for the study.
• Perform visual examination to determine the presence of acne vulgaris.
• Pre-treatment photographs were taken.

4.2 Procedures

• Clear instruction was given for the patient to use the device once per day. With the device switched on, the patient was told to ensure that the active acne lesion was in contact with the diode for at least thirty minutes per day.
• After two weeks, the patient was asked to come back for a review. During this review, the patient was asked for his/her opinion on the outcome of the treatment. The patient was then assessed visually for clinical improvement by comparing the appearance of the face on that day with the photographs taken on the previous visit. Further post-treatment photographs were taken.
• After a further two weeks the patient was asked to come back for a final review. The patient was asked if the acne had changed during the past two weeks. The patient was the assessed visually for any clinical changes by comparing the appearance of the face on that day with the photographs taken on the previous visits.

5. Results

Six patients were recruited for this study. All six patients managed to complete the study as required by the protocol.

All six volunteers reported noticeable improvement to their acne lesions. This improvement seemed to occur after day four of their course. All six patients were pleased with the results. Most patients also reported that their parents and friends also noted the improvement to their skin conditions.

Clinical assessment confirmed that there was noticeable improvement to the acne lesions in all patients after two weeks of treatment with the device. At two weeks post-treatment, the area treated had no further acne developing, whereas some of the areas of the face that were left untreated developed new acne lesions.

6. Conclusions

This study only has six volunteers but nevertheless the result is very significant as all six patients noted improvement to their acne condition. Therefore, it appears that Gallium-Nitride diode is effective in the treatment of acne vulgaris. This study will need to be repeated on a larger scale to further confirm the effectiveness of the device in the treatment of acne vulgaris.