Efficacy of biodegradable microneedle patches on periorbital wrinkles

Background: Biodegradable microneedle technology is a recently developed method to deliver medical and pharmaceutical medications into the skin, and is expected to yield better treatment results than topical application methods.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of hyaluronic acid (HA)-based microneedle patches and epidermal growth factor (EGF)-containing microneedle patches on periorbital wrinkle improvement.

Methods: A 20-week randomized, double-blind study was performed. Twenty-five Korean patients with periorbital wrinkles and a wrinkle severity rating scale (WSRS) score above 2 were enrolled into the study. The patients completed the study using the two different types of patches on each side of the designated periorbital wrinkles area every other day for 8 weeks. Patients were requested for an additional 12-week follow up. Wrinkle improvements were assessed by WSRS score, subjective patient satisfaction score, and imaging analysis using the visiometer, comeometer, cutometer, and mexameter, respectively (CourageandKhazaka, Cologne, Germany).

Results: Both the HA-based microneedle patch and EGF-containing HA-based microneedle patch had positive effects on WSRS score, patient satisfaction levels, and comeometer result with statistically significant differences. No significant side effects were noticed. Conclusion: With respect to efficacy, no statistical difference between the two groups were noted, indicating that the anti-wrinkle effects of the microneedle patch may solely be due to the HA rather than the EGF.