Doctors zap acne with lasers

Doctors zap Acne with lasers

Doctors say Acne can be kept at bay for up to three months with just one dose of a new laser treatment.

The finding has emerged from a study of 41 Acne patients reported in the Lancet medical journal.

A team led by Dr Tony Chu, from Hammersmith Hospital, London, gave 31 patients one dose of pulse-dye laser therapy (PDL). The remaining 10 patients received a dummy placebo treatment.

PDL resulted in a halving of scores on a scale of acne severity after three months. The placebo had no effect on the scores.

Dr Chu said: "Our results suggest that this laser treatment could be developed as a new therapeutic approach that would allow simultaneous treatment of both active acne and associated scarring."

The researchers say laser treatment should be explored as an additional or alternative daily treatment.

In an accompanying article, Professor Guy Webster from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, said: "The possibility that laser treatment is effective in acne is important in health economics terms.

"Infrequent treatments that make drugs unnecessary would benefit all concerned. But we are not yet at the point where acne patients are going to throw out their Antibiotics and line up for the laser."