Retinaldehyde Alleviates Rosacea

Abstract

Background: Anecdotal observations suggest that retinoic acid may be effective in mild rosacea. Aim: Our aim was to investigate, by an exploratory clinical and instrumental study, the effects of a topical formulation with the retinoic acid precursor retinaldehyde, in patients with vascular signs of facial rosacea. Methods: Female patients were treated with a 0.05% retinaldehyde cream that was applied once daily for 6 months. Clinical assessments of persistent erythema and telangiectasia were performed every month, using a 4-point severity score (absent to severe). The clinical response for each parameter was defined as a decrease of at least 1 grade in the severity score. In addition, erythema was further evaluated by measurement of the a* parameter, using a spectrophotometer on lesional and nonlesional areas. Results: A total of 23 women comprised the study population. At baseline, 10 patients had diffuse erythema, 3 patients had isolated telangiectasia and 10 patients had both. During retinaldehyde treatment, a clinical response was revealed in about 75% of the patients with erythema, after 5 months (p < 0.05). Similarly, isolated telangiectasia responded to retinaldehyde, although to a lesser extent and after a longer period of treatment (46% responders after 6 months, nonsignificant). Using the spectrophotometer, the a* parameter diminished in patients with erythema by about 15%, after 2 months of treatment (p = 0.001). Conclusion: This study indicates that retinaldehyde has beneficial effects on the vascular component of rosacea.

Rosacea: II. Therapy

“…At 4 weeks a 10% decrease in erythema was detected by means of spectrophotometry. 45 At 5 months a clinical response was noted in 75% of the 20 patients with erythema (P \ .05). Patients with only telangiectasia showed a lesser response.…”

“…[37][38][39] Topical tretinoin promotes connective tissue remodeling in the papillary and reticular dermis and minimizes dermal inflammation with chronic therapy. [40][41][42] Therefore, it is not surprising that topical retinoids have demonstrated benefit for rosacea, although their clinical response is delayed, often not evident until 2 or more months into therapy [43][44][45] Ertl and colleagues noted the delayed response in 20 rosacea patients who underwent treatment with an oral or topical retinoid, or both, for 8 months, although their study was not well controlled. They noted improvement after 8 weeks of topical tretinoin monotherapy and after 4 weeks of isotretinoin, alone or in combination with tretinoin.…”

“…46 In 1999 Vienne et al treated 23 women with ''mild'' rosacea (10 patients with diffuse erythema, 10 with erythema and telangiectasia, and 3 with only telangiectasia) with 0.05% retinaldehyde cream. 45 Retinaldehyde was used instead of retinoic acid because of its better tolerability. 47,48 Facial erythema was measured with a spectrophotometer (Chromameter CR 200, Minolta, Tokyo, Japan).…”

Dermocosmetics for Use in Rosacea: Guideline of the Society for Dermopharmacy

“…Additives of substances with skin-calming, anti-inflammatory, or vessel-stabilizing properties seem reasonable, but the benefit of such ingredients has been documented in clinical studies for only a few additives, like kinetin [40], retinaldehyde [41], and licochalcone A [42], as well as for some special mixtures of active ingredients [43, 44]. …”

Cosmeceuticals in Dermatology

“…They both have better tolerance pro fi les among topical retinoids [ 8 ] . Retinaldehyde (RAL) an intermediate form in the conversion of retinol to retinoic acid, is a well-tolerated retinoid that may also alleviate the vascular component of rosacea symptoms [ 9 ] . Moreover, 0.1 % retinaldehyde in association with 6 % glycolic acid (GA) has shown a signi fi cant decreasing in both in fl ammatory and retentional lesions in acne patients [ 10 ] .…”