New filler uses light to boost skin's beauty

Move over Juvederm and Restalyne. Make way for a new skin filler.

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have improved the technology on popular injectable hyaluronic gels that gloriously restored skin’s volume and wiped away wrinkles -- but sagged or faded away after about a year. With the new procedure, scientists inject a liquid, mold and massage it, and lock it in place with a two-minute treatment of green LED light. The implants last much longer, and look and feel more natural.

They reported their findings in the July 27 edition of the medical journal Science Translational Medicine.

Jennifer H. Elisseeff, a biomedical engineer and study co-author, says the discovery can have far-reaching effects on cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.

“We have a project with the military for facial reconstruction for soldiers in the Army. This also can be used for surgical trauma, to remove tumors and cosmetic applications used in the same places as Juvederm and Restalyne for wrinkles, chin implants or cheek implants,” she says.

 “It seems like normal tissue, and physicians have a lot of control over the implantation process in being able to lock an implant in place. We’ve never been able to do that before.”

Drugs such as Juvederm and Restalyne are made of a hyaluronic acid. The new liquid injectable is made up of a combination of natural hyaluronic acid and a FDA-approved synthetic substance called polyethylene glycol, or PEG.

Researchers first tested the implants in rats and found that even after a year, the implants maintained their original size and shape. Researchers then tried the procedure on three human patients who were scheduled for tummy tucks, a cosmetic surgical procedure to tighten and firm the abdomen. After 12 weeks, when compared to Juvederm and Restalyne, the implants held their shape and height. In that same period, the Juvederm and Restalyne implants faded away.

Elisseeff says if her team can find partners with the money to run larger clinical trials and the trials prove effective, the procedure could be ready for the public in 12 to 18 months. If no partner is found, it could be significantly longer before the light-activated soft tissue implants are ready for market.

She calls the procedure incomparable for its lasting power and natural effect.

“If you look below your cheek bone or the areas on the side of your lips, that’s soft tissue and it’s really hard to mimic,” says Elisseeff, who is also a professor at Johns Hopkins University. “Metal implants can repair the bony part of your cheek or chin, but there’s really nothing for helping to replace the soft tissue.”

The research team also is working on a similar technology for breast reconstruction after lumpectomies and to repair congenital defects such as cleft lip.

“We’re talking about making smarter materials that doctors like to use that interact with the body in a smarter way,” Elisseeff says.

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