Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39056372›Full record

SynthesisJournal of cutaneous medicine and surgery

Visible Light in the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris.

Edgar Akuffo-Addo, Kaitlyn Ramsay, Samiha Mohsen, Jeannie Boisvert, Ilya Mukovozov

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of cutaneous medicine and surgery. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Design rules for externally triggered drug uncaging under optical and radiolytic regimes.European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics : official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Edgar Akuffo-AddoTemerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-8867-0935
Kaitlyn RamsayTemerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Samiha MohsenTemerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Jeannie BoisvertFaculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Ilya MukovozovToronto Dermatology Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-1058-9413

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Acne vulgaris, a prevalent dermatological disorder, frequently affects individuals' self-perception and general psychosocial functioning. The growing demand for home-based light therapy devices prompted a systematic review to assess the efficacy of visible light in acne treatment. Overall, 35 studies were included, representing 1185 cases of acne vulgaris (mean age: 23.7 years; sex: 63% female). A total of 69% of the included studies were level 2 evidence. Overall, 92% of patients achieved partial remission of their acne lesions using visible light therapy. Among the patients who experienced a partial remission of their acne, 46% experienced a reduction of 0% to 50% in their acne lesions, while 33% and 12% experienced reductions of 51% to 74% and 75% to 99%, respectively. Notably, blue light emerged as the predominant treatment modality in this context, used in around 64% of the cases. A total of 95% of the patients who were treated with blue light experienced a partial clearance of acne lesions; 44% experienced a reduction of 0% to 50% in their acne lesions, while 42% and 9% experienced reductions of 51% to 74% and 75% to 99%, respectively. Overall, the average total lesion count improved by 43% at week 4 compared to the baseline. The average number of treatment sessions was 22 (range 1-112 sessions). On average, treated patients responded within a period of 4 weeks. Commonly reported side effects included skin irritation and erythema. This review highlights the potential of visible light therapy in acne treatment. Head-to-head studies are needed to compare the efficacy of visible light compared to existing therapies for the treatment of acne.

Indexed as

Acne VulgarisPhototherapyFemaleHumansTreatment Outcomeacne vulgarisblue lightred lightvisible light

Identifiers

PMID39056372
PMCPMC11585190

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.