Photodynamic Therapy Compared to Adapalene 0.1% Gel Plus Doxycycline in the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris

Summary

* Acne vulgaris is a common inflammatory skin disease that affects more than 85% of teens and some people may continue throughout adulthood. * Topical retinoids related to oral antibiotics are considered first-line treatment of moderate inflammatory acne. * Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) with a photosensitizer, 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) or methyl aminolevulinate (MAL), has proven useful in the management of inflammatory acne. Although progress has been made in the study of photodynamic therapy for acne, to date, no study has compared PDT with standard and well-validated pharmaceutical treatments and with the current recommended therapy for most types of acne combination therapy with a topical retinoid plus one or more antimicrobial agents. Hypothesis * PDT with the photosensitizer ALA will be effective and safe for the treatment of moderate facial inflammatory acne. * The ALA-PDT is more effective than conventional therapy with oral antibiotics and topical retinoids in the treatment of moderate inflammatory acne with faster action at 12 weeks of follow-up.

Timeline

Start

2010-10

Primary completion

2011-05

Completion

2011-05

Drugs

Indications