Background: Acne vulgaris is a very common disease in adolescence and adulthood. Oxidative stress (OS) has been implicated in the etiology of acne vulgaris especially inflammatory type. There are many modalities for treating acne vulgaris.
Aim of the work: This work aims to assess the efficacy of intense pulse light (IPL) in treatment of facial acne vulgaris and levels of oxidative stress in comparison with medical treatment.
Materials and Methods: This study included 48 patients. They were selected from acne patients attended the department of Dermatology and Androlgy, Qena University Hospital, South Valley University from July 2012 to August 2013. Patients were divided into two groups, 1st (24 patients) treated with IPL and 2nd (24 patients) treated with medical treatment. Serum malondaildehyde (MDA) has been investigated as a marker of OS.
Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the severity index before and after treatment in both study groups (P=0.001). No statistically significant difference was found between the severity index after treatment of both group (P=0.891). There was a statistically significant difference between serum MDA levels before and after treatment in both study groups (P=0.001). No statistically significant difference was found between serum MDA levels after treatment of both group (P=0.48).
Conclusion: This study concluded that IPL treatment was found to be equally effective as medical therapy with the same duration for acne patients. Also IPL treatment was an effective treatment as medical therapy in the decrease serum MDA levels in acne patients.