In this exclusive MedPage Today video, Noelani E. Gonzalez, MD, Director of Cosmetics at Mount Sinai West in New York City, discusses some of the new treatment modalities for the common skin condition melasma presented at the American Academy of Dermatology's recent annual meeting.
The following is a transcript of her remarks:
We had a session that was specifically tailored to melasma headed by Dr. Pearl Grimes, where we learned about the many different modalities, including chemical peels, topical treatments, injectables, and even laser treatments, including the newest kid on the block, which is tranexamic acid. Dr. Seemal Desai actually gave a very interesting talk yesterday at the therapeutic hotline as well as the melasma talk [today] speaking of how this is a new agent that can be used topically to treat melasma, and that's really important because it's not hydroquinone.
We finally have something that's not hydroquinone anymore. Many studies have shown its effectiveness, including an abstract that was shown here at the meeting as well, comparing intradermal injections of tranexamic acid versus platelet-rich plasma in a split-phase trial which showed efficacy in patients. I think it's very important that melasma is getting the attention that it needs and that we have new treatments available for it.