Effectiveness of photodynamic therapy with topical 5-aminolevulinic acid and intense pulsed light in Chinese acne vulgaris patients

Background The success rates of conventional treatments to acne vulgaris are limited because of intolerance and resistance. Photodynamic therapy with topical 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and red light has been introduced. However, the side effects especially pigmentation are common. Objective To study the efficacy and safety of ALA-photodynamic therapy (PDT) with 420950nm intense pulsed light (IPL) in Chinese patients with acne vulgaris. Methods Forty-one patients with moderate to severe facial acne were randomly assigned to ALA-IPL-PDT group and IPL group. Ten percent topical ALA was applied to patients in the ALA-IPL-PDT group, while placeboes were applied to patients in the IPL group. After 1h occlusion, all patients were illuminated with 420950nm IPL. The patients in both groups had four treatment sessions with 1-week intervals. One week after each treatment and 4, 8, and 12 weeks after four sessions, acne lesion counts and adverse events were observed. Results Twelve weeks after treatments, mean reductions of global lesion counts of ALA-IPL-PDT group and IPL group were 75.2% and 51.0%, respectively. Mean reductions of inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesion counts in ALA-IPL-PDT group were (83.6 +/- 4.1)% and (57.5 +/- 6.8)%, respectively. No severe adverse events were observed. Conclusion ALA-IPL-PDT is an effective treatment for moderate to severe acne vulgaris, and side effects are mild and reversible.