Novel eye cream reduces crow's feet

National report - A new cream containing human growth factors, cytokines and other ingredients has demonstrated improvement in wrinkles and other aging symptoms in the periorbital area, according to a recent study.

To test the new product, investigators enrolled 40 subjects between ages 36 and 65 with fine or deep wrinkles around both eyes, at least barely visible dark areas and at least slightly coarse and grainy lower eyelids. They excluded patients with skin disease affecting the face, those who had used facial masks or products other than sunscreens, and those who had undergone recent dermabrasion, microdermabrasion, laser, light or radiofrequency treatments or chemical peels.

Treatment involved morning and evening application of a proprietary preparation containing human growth factors and cytokines, along with caffeine, sodium hyaluronate, bisabolol and glycyrrhetinic acid (Lumiere Bio-restorative Eye Cream, Neocutis). The manufacturer calls the proprietary mixture of growth factors and cytokines "processed skin cell proteins" (PSP), which it obtains through a biotechnology process using cultured fetal skin cells from a dedicated cell bank.

Researchers evaluated patients' periorbital skin for color, texture, wrinkling, sagging and overall appearance both at baseline and after six weeks' treatment, using clinical photography under standardized conditions (VISIA-CR imaging system, Canfield Scientific). In analyzing these photos, they employed a 4 to 5 point visual scoring system and patients' self-assessments, obtained through a detailed questionnaire, Dr. Beer says. To quantify improvements, investigators subtracted patients' average clinical scores after treatment from baseline scores and expressed improvement as a percentage of the averaged baseline score.

Among 37 subjects who completed the study, the average age was 50 ± nine years. In investigators' analysis, skin texture showed the greatest average degree of improvement (28 percent), followed closely by sagging (26 percent). Global assessment scores improved about 20 percent, while color and wrinkles improved about 15 percent. All findings reached statistical significance except those in the global assessment area.

Similarly, subjects' self-assessments revealed the greatest degree of perceived improvement in texture (37 percent) and appearance (32 percent), followed by sagging and wrinkles (approximately 28 percent each) and moisture (25 percent). Puffiness, morning and evening color and skin transparence each improved by 19 percent to 22 percent. Patients' satisfaction scores averaged about 36 percent. Improvements were statistically significant in all parameters except puffiness (p= 0.09), Dr. Beer says.

Conclusions

"The findings are consistent with clinical trials for other products with growth factors. The interesting part was that the product appears to be better than products were available at the time the study was done," Dr. Beer says.

Disclosure: Dr. Beer was a paid researcher for Neocutis at the time of the study, which was funded by Neocutis.

For additional information: http://www.aad.org/