Efficacy Of Topical Retinoids Research Articles

Topical Retinoids in Acne Vulgaris: A Systematic Review

Topical retinoids are a first-line treatment for acne vulgaris. This systematic review aims to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of topical retinoids approved in the United States for the treatment of acne vulgaris. A PubMed and Embase search was conducted using the search terms 'adapalene,' 'tretinoin,' 'tazarotene,' and 'acne vulgaris.' Selection of articles fit the following inclusion criteria: clinical trials evaluating both efficacy and safety/tolerability of topical retinoids approved in the United States for the treatment of acne vulgaris and published between January 1, 2008 and September 1, 2018. Exclusion criteria included clinical trials involving 20 subjects or fewer, subjects under 12years of age, and topical retinoid combination therapies with moisturizers or aloe vera. Of 424 search results found, a total of 54 clinical trials were chosen based on selection criteria. Topical retinoids are superior to vehicle in improving Investigator Global Assessment and Investigator's Static Global Assessment (24.1-28.8% and 13.3-17.3%, respectively; p < 0.001). A topical retinoid combined with benzoyl peroxide led to IGA improvement compared with vehicle (26.1-34.9% vs 7-11.8%; p < 0.001) at Week 12. Topical retinoid plus an oral antibiotic was superior to vehicle in reducing lesion counts (64-78.9% vs 41-56.8%, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in efficacy between tretinoin and tazarotene. Tretinoin 0.05% resulted in 62% of patients experiencing AEs compared with adapalene 0.1% (19%) and adapalene 0.3% (40%). More patients receiving adapalene were tolerant of the AEs compared with tazarotene (55.4% vs 24.4%; p < 0.0012). Topical retinoids are safe and efficacious for the treatment of acne vulgaris. They should be used in combination with benzoyl peroxide to optimize results in patients. The differences in efficacy of topical retinoids appears minor; therefore, the type of topical retinoid is not as important as choosing a particular strength of topical retinoid and combining it with an antimicrobial agent. Adapalene has a superior tolerability profile amongst topical retinoids.

Efficacy and safety of adapalene gel 0.1% and 0.3% and tretinoin gel 0.05% for acne vulgaris: results of a single‐center, randomized, double‐blinded, placebo‐controlled clinical trial on Mexican patients (skin type III–IV)

The efficacy of topical retinoids is well known according to several clinical studies conducted predominantly among Caucasian patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of adapalene and tretinoin among Mexican patients. To compare adapalene 0.1 and 0.3% and tretinoin 0.05% in Mexican subjects with acne vulgaris. We enrolled 171 patients in this single-center, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The patients applied on the face either adapalene 0.1%, adapalene 0.3%, tretinoin 0.05%, or placebo for 90days and were evaluated for the reduction in total lesion counts and for the level of irritation. Tretinoin 0.05% and adapalene 0.3% were more effective than adapalene 0.1% and placebo in the reduction of both inflammatory and noninflammatory lesions. Most of adverse events to adapalene and many on tretinoin group were related to skin irritation, dry skin, scaling, pruritus, burning, and postinflammatory hyperpigmentation. Adapalene 0.3% and tretinoin 0.05% are comparable in efficacy, and adapalene 0.1% offers a better safety profile in Mexican patients.

Overview of new therapeutic developments for acne

The pathogenesis of acne is complex and multifactorial, and parallel targeting of various pathogenetic factors with appropriate drugs currently represents the most effective approach for treating this psychologically and physically scarring disease. Current therapeutic developments in acne focus on fixed combinations of substances with complementary effects in order to optimize efficacy and improve patient compliance. Such combinations are topical clindamycin with benzoyl peroxide, an approach that also reduces the emergence of resistant strains of Propionibacterium acnes, as well as the fixed combination of retinoids with antimicrobials, namely a clindamycin phosphate 1.2%/tretinoin 0.025% and an adapalene 0.1%/benzoyl peroxide 2.5% gel combination. Recent studies have demonstrated the clinical efficacy of topical retinoids in maintenance therapy of acne, which supports the currently refined understanding of acne as a chronic disease. New approaches addressed in clinical trials include topical dapsone 5%...

Chronic Topical Application of All-trans-retinoic Acid in Man Does Not Affect Corneocyte Surface Area

The potential therapeutic activity of topically applied novel analogues of retinoic acid is currently measured in many different animal models. In most cases, the technique used is invasive and biopsy specimens are required. Furthermore, efficacy in these models is not a guarantee of success in treatment of humans. Therefore, predictive human pharmacology tests are required in order to quantify a retinoid effect on human skin before conducting large clinical trials. The aim of this study was to determine whether changes in corneocyte surface area could be used as a predictive measure for the efficacy of topical retinoids in man. Topical applications of all-trans retinoic acid gel (Aberel), salicylic acid gel and the gel vehicle were made once daily for 4 weeks to skin of the lumbar region of healthy human volunteers. Corneocytes were recovered from these three treated zones as well as from one zone of untreated skin, and their surface areas were measured by image analysis using a MOP-Videoplan. The results showed that at no point during the 4 weeks of daily application to healthy human skin was there a statistically significant difference in the surface area of corneocytes recovered from Aberel, salicylic acid-, vehicle-treated or untreated sites. No specific effect of retinoic acid could be detected. However, although no between-treatment differences were found, significant cyclical changes in the mean surface areas with respect to baseline were observed.