Introduction: The ECCA grading scale (échelle d’évaluation clinique des cicatrices d’acné) is a tool designed to help dermatologists to assess the severity of acne scars and to standardize the discussions about the treatments of scars. Methods: We developed an acne scar clinical grading scale called ECCA, which consists of 6 items designed to assess easily and quickly the severity of acne scars by a global score. The interobserver reliability of the ECCA grading was statistically validated. Results: The statistical analysis showed the interinvestigator reliability of the ECCA grading scale among 7 dermatologists who used it on the same group of 10 acne patients. Conclusion: ECCA is a new tool which will now be available for dermatologists to use in their everyday practice and for clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of treatments on acne scars.
Sensitive skin is common but until now there has been no scale for measuring its severity. The Sensitive Scale is a new scale with a 14-item and a 10-item version that was tested in 11 countries in different languages on 2,966 participants. The aim of this study was to validate the pertinence of using the Sensitive Scale to measure the severity of sensitive skin. The internal consistency was high. Correlations with the dry skin type, higher age, female gender, fair phototypes and Dermatology Life Quality Index were found. Using the 10-item version appeared to be preferable because it was quicker and easier to complete, with the same internal consistency and the 4 items that were excluded were very rarely observed in patients. The mean initial scores were around 44/140 and 37/100. The use of a cream for sensitive skin showed the pertinence of the scale before and after treatment.
Avène Thermal Spring Water (TSW) is a natural active component characterized by a low mineral content. In vitro experiments have demonstrated the effect of Avène TSW on membrane fluidity, its antiradical and anti-inflammatory properties, its effects on many mediators involved in the immune response and its stimulating effect on keratinocyte differentiation. The clinical efficacy of the water was demonstrated at the hydrotherapy centre in chronic and disabling diseases such as atopic dermatitis but also in various settings in medical and post dermatology procedure such as photodynamic therapy or photothermolysis. All these data support the fact that the Avène TSW is an active component.
These data show that a combination of RAL 0.1% and GA 6% may be used in association with other topical anti-acne treatments with an excellent tolerance.
This comparative clinical trial demonstrates that ATSW, a low mineral content spring water, can be useful after ALA-PDT in reducing postprocedure cutaneous inflammation and patient discomfort better than a high mineral content spring water.
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