The effects of overnight wrinkle reducers often vanish just as quickly as they appear. It seems that instant results and lasting results do not always go hand in hand. However, reports from the 2009 American Society of Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) meeting show impressive results by a new and exciting dermal filler called AquamidR. There is potential that this product may be more effective than the current treatments on the market for treating facial wrinkles known as nasolabial folds.
The active ingredient in AquamidR is 2.5% polyacrylamide hydrogel. This injectable filler is currently being investigated to determine the drug’s lasting effects. So far, tests have shown that patients have tolerated the drug as well as hyaluronic acid, a popular and commonly-used treatment.
Even more importantly, however, is the fact that it was as effective as its competition after six months. Polyacrylamide hydrogel is non-biodegradable and stays in place when injected, so scientists are predicting that the effectiveness will continue beyond even the study period. Also, because the drug will not be reabsorbed into the body, patients do not require periodic re-injections like with other treatments. This saves patients time and money while preventing side effects like bruising and pain when injected.
The study performed to compare the effectiveness of the two drugs uses an objective measuring system called the Wrinkle Assessment Scale. This scale is widely accepted among medical professionals. Among patients injected with polyacrylamide hydrogel, the average improvement was 1.8 points on the Wrinkle Assessment Scale in six months. This is compared to 2.0 points with the conventional hyaluronic acid method, but both treatments were beyond the 0.5-point cut-off needed to declare the drugs as clinically relevant and statistically significant. Twelve months later, there was an average 1.7-point improvement in both treatment groups.
Developers of the drug caution against too much excitement just yet; there is still more time needed to do longer follow-ups on patients to ensure the long-term safety of the treatment. Five-year data collected in Europe currently supports the safety of polyacrylamide hydrogel. But if you are one of the many people looking for non-surgical solution to facial wrinkles, keep looking toward this new developing treatment option.
