Photodynamic Therapy for Cutibacterium Acnes (C. Acnes) Decolonization of the Shoulder Dermis
Status:
Enrolling by invitation
Trial end date:
2021-08-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
This is a prospective, randomized controlled trial to evaluation the ability of
5-aminolevulinic acid HCL topical solution photodynamic therapy to decrease the colonization
of Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes- a bacteria commonly found in the dermis of the skin
surrounding the shoulder) in order to decrease postoperative joint infections.
-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a naturally occurring metabolite in the synthesis of pathway of
cellular heme production. Adding ALA to bacteria encourages porphyrin production which serve
as the immediate precursors to heme production. When these porphyrins are illuminated with
blue light at an emission peak of 407-420nm, these metabolites become exothermic and cause
internal destruction of the bacterial cells. This therapy does not cause any damage to the
mammalian cells, which makes PDT safe for human skin treatment.