Abstract
BACKGROUND: Acne is an inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit that occurs primarily in adolescents. There is no current ideal treatment for acne vulgaris, as many mainstay prescription treatment modalities can compromise the skin microbiome or have deleterious health effects. Further research is needed to investigate novel treatment modalities that account for the importance of the skin microbiome. Other developing treatment modalities for acne are still taking a similar mode of action as current treatments by trying to eliminate Cutibacterium acnes despite growing evidence that some C. acnes strains may be symbiotic in nature. The perception that microneedling will exacerbate the disease state and trigger more acneic lesions via the spread of acne-associated microbes has hindered research investigating whether microneedling is a safe and effective treatment. This pilot clinical study challenges such perceptions by clinical assessment to determine if microneedling may produce beneficial treatment outcomes without disrupting critical skin structure or skin microbiome. OBJECTIVES: Test the safety and efficacy of microneedling as an effective treatment modality for acne vulgaris. METHODS: Subjects were split into two groups, one group received three treatments 4 weeks apart, and the second group received four treatments 2 weeks apart. Subjects received an acne assessment by an expert clinical grader at all clinical visits. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant reduction in both non-inflammatory and inflammatory lesions at the 2-month follow-up compared to the baseline for Group 1. Group 1 and Group 2 saw a decline of 48.20% and 54.00% in non-inflammatory lesions and 57.97% and 36.67% in inflammatory lesions, respectively, at their last visit compared to baseline. CONCLUSION: This study expands the utility of microneedling into a potential therapeutic modality for acne vulgaris. The data generated during the duration of this clinical study demonstrates that there is no scientific reason for microneedling to be contraindicated for acne. In this pilot, microneedling did not cause post-treatment complications and was seen to reduce acne lesions effectively. Thus, microneedling may have the potential to be a well-tolerated option for those suffering from acne, being a treatment that neither damages the sebaceous glands nor disrupts the skin microbiome.