Treatment of moderate to severe inflammatory acne vulgaris: photodynamic therapy with 5-aminolevulinic acid and a novel advanced fluorescence technology pulsed light source.

The use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with 20% 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) for the treatment of acne vulgaris has been explored. This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of a new Advanced Fluorescence Technology (AFT) pulsed light source (420-950 nm) for photoactivation in ALA PDT for the treatment of moderate to severe inflammatory facial acne vulgaris. Nineteen subjects received 4 ALA PDT treatments with the AFT pulsed light source. Treatments were spaced 2 weeks apart. ALA was incubated for 15 to 30 minutes. At the end of the fourth treatment, the total reductions in inflammatory and noninflammatory lesion counts were 54.5% and 37.5%, respectively. Median Global Severity Scores suggest a trend toward reduction after several treatments. Investigator and subject assessments show moderate to marked improvement in most patients. The new AFT pulsed light source with ALA PDT appears to be a safe and effective modality for the treatment of moderate to severe inflammatory acne vulgaris.