Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Acne gets golden touch
Gold particles, used together with laser therapy, are successfully treating adults
GOLD dust skin therapy sounds like the kind of gimmicky, glittery face masks favoured by celebrities such as Kate Hudson and Stella McCartney, but now dermatologists are using gold particles – together with a laser – to treat adult acne and believe it can replace harsh drugs.
Tiny grains of silica wrapped in gold are massaged into the pores and travel down to the oil glands, where they are heated by a laser passed over the skin. The heat absorbed by the particles creates a controlled burn, shrinking the oil glands over time.
As many as 80% of people experience acne at some point, according to the British National Health Service (NHS) – characterised by unsightly and often painful spots on the face, back or chest.
More than 5% of women and 1% of men aged over 25 have ongoing problems with it. Outbreaks are caused by oil blockages in the pores, combined with infection by the
bacterium.
“The first line of treatment for mild to moderate acne is topical ointments such as benzoyl peroxide or retinoids, which have minimal or manageable side-effects, such as redness or flaking,” said Dr Ai-Lean Chew, a consultant dermatologist at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
“For more serious acne, or if the topical gels fail, the next step would be antibiotics, or for women, hormonal drugs such as the contraceptive pill. By the time patients come to me, they’ve usually tried all this so the next step might be isotretinoin.”
Antibiotics kill the bacteria that cause spots, while isotretinoin – better known as Roaccutane – attacks the oil glands, reducing oil production. Although these medicines can be effective, both come with downsides.
Long-term antibiotic use contributes to antibiotic resistance. Roaccutane, the “last resort” in the battle against acne, requires patients to have frequent blood tests to check for liver damage and women prescribed the medication must use two forms of contraception because it can cause serious birth defects.
The effect of the novel gold and laser treatment, called Sebacia, is similar to Roaccutane; it shrinks the oil glands, where acne begins, but unlike drugs that have an effect throughout the body, Sebacia works only on the oil glands.
It involves three treatments given one week apart, although it can take six to 12 months to see the full effects.
“You have to wait for these glands to shrivel up properly and die off and you may have slightly unstable moments during that time where they try to recover and you’ll have a little blip in your spots,” said Dr Saqib Bashir, a consultant dermatological surgeon at King’s College Hospital and Skin55 on Harley Street.
A study conducted at nine private practices in Europe and presented at the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery conference in October showed a 79% improvement six months after treatment.
“Gold is used because it is an inert substance,” said Chew, and therefore harmless.
Bashir said: “A liquid containing gold microparticles is painted on the face and massaged in. The microparticle... glides down the pore into the oil or sebaceous gland... then we use a laser to ‘zap’ all over the face.”
Daily Mail