Evaluation of the difference in the effectiveness of adipose stem cells (ASCs) with conditioned media (CM) in the treatment of atrophic acne scars with two methods (fractional carbon dioxide laser and microneedling)

Evaluation of the difference in the effectiveness of adipose stem cells (ASCs) with conditioned media (CM) in the treatment of atrophic acne scars with two methods (fractional carbon dioxide laser and microneedling)
mahsa motallebi,¹ maryam nouri,² mohammad ali nilforoushzadeh,^3,* mehrak zare,⁴
1. Researche associate at Skin and Stem Cell Research Center (SSRC)
2. Head of Biometrics Department of Dermatology of skin and stem cell research center(SSRC)
3. Head of Skin and Stem Cell Research Center (SSRC)
4. Research associate at skin and stem cell center(SSRC)
Introduction: It is a challenge to treat acne scars and a multimodal combination approach is necessary. While fractional CO2 lasers (FCLs) and microneedling are an established treatment options, the role of the adipose stem cells (ASCs) with conditioned media (CM) in the treatment of atrophic acne scars is not established. We combined the two methods to assess the proposed synergistic action on atrophic acne scars.
Methods: We included thirty patients in our study, which separated by two groups (15= FCLs+ADSC-CM) and (15= microneedling+ADSC-CM). The age of the patients varied from 24 to 40 years. The first group was treated with FCLs+ADSC-CM and the second group was treated with microneedling+ADSC-CM .Treatment sessions were performed in 4 sessions with an interval of 21 days. Before treatment, biometric indices of patients' facial skin in areas with atrophic acne scars were measured and recorded as evaluation in each session.
Results: Symptoms of redness, edema, and pain were significantly less in areas treated with Microneedling + ADSC-CM compared with FCLs + ADSC-CM. Injury and inflammation associated with laser treatment are significantly reduced due to the use of ADSC-CM. Both methods were effective in management of acne scars. The final assessment took place at 6 months. Combined microneedling + ADSC-CM-treated areas had a significantly better response (p = 0.01)
Conclusion: As a result, our findings show that both methods are effective in reducing scars. microneedling and conditioned media as a combination method is an effective and safe method in the treatment of atrophic acne scars. In this method, compared to the use of laser, there is a slight pain experience and low complication rate in patients with acne scars. And this satisfaction is higher in patients with dark skin.
Keywords: Atrophic acne scars , Microneedling , Stem cell , Fractional CO2 lasers, ADSC-CM