Let’s face it. When it comes to acne scarring, very few things can really help, at least in my experience. A study out of Korea has shown that when “Fractionated Laser” [Fraxel, Affirm, CO2 lasers] are done for acne, in combination with subcision [which involves using a tiny 29-Gauuge needle and going under the scar], in conjunction with localized chemical peeling, the severity of the scarring decreased by 50%! That is an excellent outcome!. The fractionated laser, such as the Affirm, is excellent in improving the shallow acne scars. In the study done, 3-4 treatments were done. After the lasers were done, clients underwent peeling and subcision twice, 2-3 months apart. The peels used were quite “strong”, up to 100% TCA peels, which is much stronger than that used in the “South Beach” Peel.

AFFIRM LASER FOR SCARS

Non-ablative lasers, such as the Affirm, are safe and effective for treating scars. A study just performed by Dr. Vasily and published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology 2009. The study has shown an excellent improvement in 40% of scars and a good improvement in 30% of scars. A majority of scars that were more than 10 years old still responded. The aesthetic response was correlated with positive changes in the tissue [“histology”]

Photodynamic Therapy for Acne

This is a very useful treatment for acne, and one that can be used when you have “failed” the typical treatments that are used to treat it. What can you expect in terms of results? According to the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology 2009 has shown a 70% decrease in the “inflammatory” acne and a 66% decrease in the “non-inflammatory” acne. Also known as “PDT”, it is not for everyone and it requires you to really listen to the post-treatment instructions!!!

Taking Care of Your Skin in the Winter

The most important thing to remember is that you must use a moisturizer frequently for it to work, as well as continuing your sunblock because of UVA radiation. UVA radiation, which ages the skin, is constant throughout the year. Also, because the winter’s cold can irritate the skin, it is important to keep up your water intake! The sensitivity to the cold can make you more sensitive to chemical peels and microdermabrasions, but you can still do these procedures with proper attention to details. I advise my clients to be careful with over-exfoliation, especially when the skin has been beaten down by the cold. Also, just remember, just because its natural doesn’t mean it’s good. There is medically accepted term as “sensitive skin” and we all need to understand that this is a marketing term more than anything else. In truth, we all have sensitive skin!

Update in Health March 2010

Welcome to our March 2010 health update, where I list this month’s new findings in Medicine and Aesthetics. As always, this does not replace an actual medical visit and it is not intended for use in making important personal medical and treatment decisions. This is a “jump board” for information only.

Diabetes Care:

When it comes to Diabetes, doctors like to follow the “A1c” level as a means of determining if the blood sugar has remained in acceptable ranges. In a recent report, it seems that an A1c level less than 7.5 increases death rates among diabetes. This is probably due to that fact that hypoglycemia [low blood sugar] carries a real risk.

Osteoporosis/ Fosamax Nightmare?

Fosamax is a prescription drug used for osteoporosis. It is part of a class of drugs called Bisphosonates. These class of drugs are used to treat osteoporosis. They may also be associated with lower rates of breast cancer, though they are known to have side effect of producing osteonecrosis of the jaw. Now, a new concern is that the bisphonate drugs may paradoxically increase the rate of bone fractures…the exact thing they were supposed to prevent. There have been reports of atypical fracture of the femur bone. These seem to occur in folks taking these meds for more than 5 years. Two thirds of those that got fractures had them on both sides. Yikes! This risk has not been seen with Evista, which is a NON-bisphosphonate drug and the one that seems to decrease the risk of breast cancer. Some thought is that those on Fosamax may want to take a drug holiday after 5 years, or switch to Evista.

Colon Cancer Screen:

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could swallow a capsule and have it take pictures all the way down the tract when it was time for a colon cancer screen? Colon cancer is a preventable …if you get screened in time. The test of choice is a colonoscopy. I am not a fan of virtual colonoscopy because of the radiation exposure. A wireless capsule would be great…..but…..data presented at the 13th World Congress of Gastroenterology found the capsule was only 39% sensitive as a test when it came to imaging the colon. So…it’s not ready for Prime Time yet.

Green Tea and Lung Cancer:

Chemoprevention is a hugh topic in medicine and the quest for natural products that can actually decrease your risk of various cancers has been disappointing. With that perspective, another study has shown that current and former smokers who do not drink green tea have a 13x more likely risk of developing lung cancer vs. those who consume at least one cup a day. It seems to be the polyphenols in green tea. Of course, it would be stupid to think that you can still smoke and drink green tea and all will be good in the world. If you want to decrease your risk, you must stop smoking. Period.

Paxil and Tamoxifen Warning:

Women who take Paxil and Tamoxifen were up to 90% more likely to die of their disease vs. those who did not take this combination. This was a population study in Canada. Paxil is part of a class of drugs called SSRI’s. As a class, it is known to inhibit “P450 2Ds”, which is an enzyme which is needed to convert Tamoxifen to endoxifen. These results only seem to be seen with Paxil, not with the other SSRI’s. It may be due to the fact that Paxil is an irreversible inhibitor of this enzyme. So MD’s are therefore now recommending non-SSRI anti-depressants when some one is on Tamoxifen.