title: Photoletter to the editor: Topical 0.5% brimonidine gel to camouflage redness of immature scars.
abstract: Cutaneous scars develop as a result of a defective wound healing process. Scars are commonly visible as erythematous, sometimes disfiguring lesions which might be stigmatizing for the affected patient. Only a few therapies to improve the appearance of scars are available. Recently, brimonidine - a selective α2-receptor-agonist which causes vasoconstriction of small cutaneous vessels - was approved for the treatment of erythemato-telangiectatic rosacea. Topical brimonidine might also be helpful to improve redness of immature scars. Here we report on the effect of brimonidine 0.5% gel on a flat, erythematous scar in a 25-year-old female patient. Whitening of the scar could be observed immediately after application of brimonidine 0.5% gel and a good clinical result was observed within one hour. This effect lasted for up to three hours. We conclude that brimonidine 0.5% gel is a suitable topical therapy to reduce erythema in visible cutaneous scars.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reinholz
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heppt
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich.
authors.forename: Julia K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Tietze
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ruzicka
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich.
authors.forename: Gerd G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Gauglitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schauber
keywords: brimonidine gel; erythema; immature scar; scar; topical therapy