Evaluation the effect of of topical use of the adipose stem cells (ASCs) with conditioned media (CM) in the treatment of atrophic acne scars with microneedling

Evaluation the effect of of topical use of the adipose stem cells (ASCs) with conditioned media (CM) in the treatment of atrophic acne scars with 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: This study was to investigate the effect of topical use of the adipose stem cells (ASCs) with conditioned media (CM) in the treatment of atrophic acne scars.There is no gold standard treatment for facial acne scars, and overall, little literature exists about the combination therapy for treatment of acne scar. Microneedling is a very simple, safe, effective, and minimally invasive therapeutic technique. It was initially introduced for skin rejuvenation, however, now it is being used for a very wide range of indications including acne scar, acne, post-traumatic/burn scar, alopecia, skin rejuvenation, drug delivery, hyperhidrosis, stretch marks, and many more.
Methods: Fifteen patients with atrophic acne ulcers received four microneedling sessions 2 weeks apart on both sides of the face. The ADSC-CM was then placed locally on the right side of the face during microneedling. Clinical examination was performed by histopathological and computer histometric analysis before each session.
Results: The age of the patients varied from 24 to 40 years (mean: 30.08±4.94 years). Only nine patients (36%) were males. Clinical assessment by two-blinded dermatologists showed statistically significant improvement in the combination Microneedling+ ADSC-CM group. Patient satisfaction was statistically significantly better in the combination group (P=.001).There was significant increase in the improvement percentage of acne scars on right side microneedling + ADSC-CM(P=0.01) vs left side of face microneedling. Histologically, improvement of character of collagen and elastic fibers was noticed, especially on right side. Meanwhile, significant increase in epidermal thickness on both sides of face was detected.
Conclusion: conditioned media of adipose derived stem cells combined with microneedling is more effective in management of atrophic acne scars than microneedling alone. The combination of Microneedling and ADSC-CM is a safe and effective modality for atrophic acne scars. Additional randomized clinical study with long-term follow-up is necessary for further evaluation of ADSC-CM in combination with other procedures.
Keywords: Atrophic acne scars , Microneedling , Stem cell , Skin care , ADSC-CM