INTRODUCTION
The demand for noninvasive skin rejuvenation is at the forefront of cosmetic medicine. As we strive to provide optimal Anti-Aging results with new medical procedure treatments, safety, pain, and downtime are important factors to consider. Photothermolysis with Fractionated laser devices has proven to provide neocollagenesis. These new age devices provide us with the benefits of no downtime and no pain.1, 2 The fractionated Q-switched ND: YAG 1,064-nm by Harmony XL, Alma Lasers Ltd. is the latest of these devices that provide us with the combination of safety, no pain, and no downtime. By keeping the skin intact, we avoid unnecessary delay in wound healing and risk of scarring but still have the dermal effects of collagen remodeling. Stem cell research is one of the most exciting topics in modern day biomedical investigation and stands vanguard of a new field called regenerative medicine. The enthusiasm about stem cell research derives from new insight into their behavior and location in the human body and from data that support the hope that stem cells may one day be used to repair injury in human tissues.19 The concept of scarless wound healing3 and the role of stem cells in collagen regeneration open the door to exciting possibilities in skin rejuvenation.
In this study we present an open series to compare the treatment of aging skin using fractionated Q-switched 1,064 with and without topical cream formulation containing plant stem extract having epigenetic properties to human stem cells and N-acetyl glucosamine (NAG) with a pro-collagen effect.
METHOD
Six women in the age group of 45-72 were selected in this study, with Fitzpatrick skin types III-V. They had visible signs of facial and neck skin aging. Verbal and written consents for treatment and photographs were obtained. The subjects were in good health with no preexisting skin conditions and were not on oral medications that could affect the laser treatment to the skin. Females that had prior use of fillers/botulinum injections or prior laser skin resurfacing procedures were excluded.
Scoring was based on rhytides, laxity, elastosis, dyschromia, erythema-telangiectasia, keratosis, and texture. The Quantitative Comprehensive Grading Scale of Rhytides Laxity and Photoagingâ„¢ was used to grade each subject.4 Pretreatment photographs were taken at baseline.