'Plasma' Technique a New Wrinkle-Fighter

Device improves appearance with faster healing time, study suggests.

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
Tuesday, February 20, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

TUESDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- There's a new wrinkle in the search for younger-looking skin, experts report.

A series of low-energy treatments with a "plasma skin regeneration tool" to banish wrinkles seems to be equally effective as a single, high-energy blast but with less healing time for patients.

"The healing time in our study averaged approximately five days per treatment," a team led by Dr. Melissa Bogle, now at the Laser and Cosmetic Surgery Center of Houston, noted in the study, which is published in the February issue of Archives of Dermatology. Bogle conducted the study while at SkinCare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

"While nearly a week of healing time may not seem to be an improvement over other minimally invasive resurfacing procedures and micropeels, the intensity of the healing process is quite minor, which makes it an attractive option for many patients," the researchers said.

This non-surgical procedure relies on "plasma" which, according to the study, is a state of matter in which electrons are stripped from atoms to form an ionized gas.

For this procedure, energy from plasma is delivered to skin tissue in short (one millisecond) pulses.

The device, called Portrait PSR, delivers the pulses and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for both multiple low-energy treatments and for single, high-energy treatments, both to remove wrinkles and treat superficial skin lesions such as acne scarring. Most of the research thus far, however, has focused on the latter, which can take a week or longer to heal.

This study aimed to see if similar results and less healing time could be achieved with multiple treatments delivered at a low energy.

The research was funded by Rhytec Inc. of Waltham, Mass., which makes the PSR device.

The researchers enlisted eight volunteers and administered three full-face, low-energy treatments every three weeks.

Three months after being treated, participants had 37 percent fewer wrinkles (as judged by the researchers) and a 68 percent improvement in overall facial appearance (as judged by the patient).