Efficacy and safety of CD 271 alcoholic gels in the topical treatment of acne vulgaris.
CD 271, a naphthoic acid, is a powerful modulator of epidermal differentiation. This double-blind, randomized study compared the efficacy and safety of two concentrations (0.03% w/w and 0.1% w/w) of CD 271 alcoholic gel, with 0.025% w/w tretinoin gel in 72 male patients with acne vulgaris over a period of 12 weeks. Efficacy was measured by counting facial inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions and by grading the severity of the acne at each visit. Skin tolerance was assessed with subjective symptoms, such as burning and pruritus, as well as clinical assessment of erythema, dryness and scaling on the treated areas. The alcoholic 0.1% CD 271 gel was as effective as 0.025% tretinoin gel in reducing total comedone counts (83% reduction for both products after 12 weeks' treatment). The reduction in the number of inflammatory lesions and the total number of acne lesions were significantly greater with 0.1% CD 271 gel than with tretinoin gel (69% and 79% for 0.1% CD 271, 50% and 73% for tretinoin gel, respectively, P less than 0.05). All three treatments were well tolerated and there were no changes in any major blood parameters. No CD 271 could be detected in blood plasma at the end of the study (detection limit = 1 ng/ml).