| PHOTOTHERAPY | ARTICLE
PHOTOBIOMODULATION TO TREAT
USING LED STRETCH MARKS Jean Paul Tedgui, Philippe Blanchemaison
and Claude le Goff evaluate the treatment of stretch marks using LED light therapy, an innovative approach to skin treatments
ABSTRACT Full title Evaluation of a protocol for the treatment of stretch marks by LED photobiomodulation, associated with radiofrequency.
Objectives and principles of the study This open clinical study was conducted at Centre Esthésio Clinic, Paris, on the entire patient base for a given period, without any exclusion. It covers 103 patients presenting mild to severe stretch marks at different phases: recent, old and very old. Subjects and researchers evaluated the clinical course of stretch marks over time using subjective and objective criteria.
Inclusion critera Six men and 97 women presenting recent to very old stretch marks in all skin types. The youngest patient was 17 years old and
by this affliction, especially in urban areas. City life is often more distressing than life in the country. Urban adolescents are faced with multiple stressful situations and it is known that stress increases the secretion of cortisol, especially during puberty. Fibroblast proliferation is blocked and collagen production drops in proportion. The immediate effect is the development of new stretch marks. Any organic affection usually appears to the affected person as a narcissistic wound, and indeed, stretch marks often have a significant impact on psycho-emotional wellbeing.
S TRETCH MARKS1–22
the oldest was 56 years old. The average age of the subjects was 30.29 years. Duration of the stretch marks in the subjects: less than 1 year = 15 subjects most recent; 1–5 years = 16 subjects; 5–10 years = 36 subjects; 10–15 years = 18 subjects; 15–20 years = 10 subjects; more than 20 years = 8 subjects. The total number of sessions conducted on all subjects was 1881; the average number of sessions per patient was 17.75. Stretch mark treatment areas were (in descending order): abdomen, buttocks, thighs (inner faces, before and after), breasts, hips, lower back, legs, and arms and shoulders.
Exclusion criteria Patients presenting stretch marks more than 1 cm wide; patients with metabolic diseases or unstabilised endocrine
ARE A PATHOLOGY
that significantly affect the quality of life of those affected, especially women; men are often more indifferent not only to their own stretch marks, but also to those of their partners. Adolescent girls are also affected
conditions; patients currently treated with corticosteroids; pregnant women; patients with pathology of the thyroid gland.
Context Stretch marks affect the lives of many people who, often during dermatological consultation, tend to say that there is no solution to this problem and that stretch marks are for life. In aesthetic medicine, diverse techniques have been used with limited success, mainly dermabrasion and laser therapies. Cosmetic or dermo-cosmetic, preventive or curative, treatments have never truly proven their effectiveness in this area (apart from one study of tretinoin 0.1%). The arrival of LED phototherapy benefits from a number of publications on the treatment of fibroblast cells, which allows us to predict the results in the treatment of stretch marks.
Skin diseases are unique in the sense that they are
visible and inevitably affect both the image that the subject has of him/herself and the image that others have of them. Depending on circumstances, a distorted image of the skin will be a source of curiosity, disgust, revulsion, embarrassment or shame, but will also impact on the avoidance of anxiety-producing situations (e.g. swimming pools, emotional and sexual relations). Certainly, the image a woman may have of herself may play an important role in the feeling of whether she is desirable to her companion.
Who may be affected by stretch marks? It is estimated that stretch marks affect approximately 50% of the young population21
. Their first appearance may occur during puberty (25% of girls and 10% of
KEYWORDS LED, photobiomodulation, stretch marks, collagen, elastin, fibroblasts, bipolar radiofrequency
prime-journal.com | March 2012
JEAN PAUL TEDGUI, MD is medical aesthetician, laser therapist and phototherapist, Paris; PHILIPPE BLANCHEMAISON, MD is vascular medicine specialist, Paris; and CLAUDE LE GOFF is Director of Biotechnology Research and medical specialist in photobiomodulation by LED
email:
santagora@free.fr
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