More from the ASDA Meeting

I love the fall surgery meeting because it is such a great source of the most up to date information. You get to talk/listen to the actual people involved in the research. The following are some of the “tidbits” from the meeting in addition to the Tanda (11/11/11 blog).

Skin Medica’s Redness Relief cream with 1% 4-Ethoxybenzaldehyde was shown to provide a 44% improvement in facial redness in 4 weeks. My favorite and most respected product researcher, Zoe Draelos MD, was behind this study so it is a very reliable report.

There is another eyelash product, RevitaLash, which was developed by an eye doctor initially to treat cancer patients including his wife. The most active and controversial chemical in it is similar to the one in Allergan’s Latisse. I have had a lengthening of my lashes with Latisse to the point of having to carefully trim them. I have reduced my use to 2-3 times per week and the amount by half without affecting the growth I have achieved. Pam, our aesthetician, has been using LiLash and her lashes have become so thick and long with an upward curl that she no longer needs to use her eyelash curler.
As a physician, I think we need to have regular eye exams, not continue with any product if it is causing irritation, follow the instructions in the package, keep the applicators and skin clean and report any side effects to the manufactures. As a female, I’m very happy to have lashes similar to the teenage male patients in my clinic. Sometimes life isn’t fair.

An update on the topical neurotoxin which in the second year of phase III trials looks very promising. While it will never replace the effectiveness of Botox or Dysport, it will be able to be used under the eyes and possible eyelids which hasn’t been the case with injectables. It is hoped that it will be useful for very sweaty palms and soles of the feet also.

The Canadians were singing the praise of an even denser hyaluronic acid filler called Voluma from Allergan. It sounds like it will be similar to Sculptra in the way it will be used for facial volumizing.

While there are several treatments for acne scars, there are no magic answers. There is possibly an underlying abnormal healing response in the first place. Multiple treatments are required for a 50-60% improvement.

Dr. Danny Vleggarr, of Sculptra fame, continues to explore the 3 dimensional changes in the aging face. I was really amazed at the differences between male and females. For females, the lower face is more narrowed and recessed. For males, the upper face compresses in. The bottom line is that where we place the fillers will be different. There was another report where very dilute Sculptra was injected into the central chest “crinkles” and lasted up to two years.

LaViv (azficel-T) takes a patient’s own tissue (skin from behind the ear) and grows a “very personal” filler with the patients own fibnoblasts to be used for facial lines and folds.

Phase III trials are starting on ATX-101, a fat dissolving injection. It will treat small areas only, such as the chin. It generally takes four treatments; one month apart and certainly won’t replace liposuction.

Dr. Ann