A low-salt medical water reduces irritancy of retinoic acid in facial acne

Although effective medications are available for the treatment of acne, tol erance problems may preclude adequate treatment regimens such as topical re tinoic acid, and reduce patient compliance. The present study was conducted to evaluate whether a medical water (Avene) in conjunction with retinoic a cid may improve local tolerance in acne. A controlled, open, randomised, multicentric study was completed after 28 d ays of treatment in 69 acne patients, 34 applying a retinoic acid preparati on alone, and 35 applying retinoic acid in association with the water spray used ad libitum. Topical retinoic acid treatment induced prominent signs o f irritation in both groups. However, a statistically significant reduction between the two treatment groups could be demonstrated on scaling at all a ssessment visits (p less than or equal to 0.02, Wilcoxon test). No signific ant water effect on erythema, burning and itching was shown during the trea tment period. The overall tolerance assessed by the investigator was signif icantly improved with the water (p = 0.04, Wilcoxon). Taken together, water with a low mineral content appears to be a promising adjunctive treatment for improving the tolerance of topical retinoids in acne.