A single blind, randomized clinical trial comparing MMP^®, MMP^® with 5-FU, and 5-FU intradermal injection for the treatment of idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis: a pilot study

INTRODUCTION: Idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis (IGH) is a common photoaging manifestation, with no standard treatment and presenting mixed results to interventions. In Brazil, the use of micro-needling associated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has been proposed to treat IGH.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the use of MMP^® (micro-infusion of drugs on the skin) with 5-FU, with MMP^® only as micro-needling (with no drugs), and intralesional 5-FU injected with an insulin syringe in the treatment of IGH.
METHODS: In a single blind randomized clinical trial, we compared the three treatments: MMP^® versus MMP with 5-FU and intralesional 5-FU injection for 180 IGH lesions in the forearm of nine patients.
RESULTS: After two treatment sessions, 5-FU alone was the most effective treatment, with statistical significance, compared with micro-needling alone. MMP+5-FU efficacy was lower than intralesional 5-FU injection and higher than micro-needling alone, although without statistical significance.
CONCLUSIONS: The intralesional application of 5-FU was more effective in the treatment of solar leukoderma. The use of a smaller quantity of medication is the great advantage of the MMP + 5-FU technique. Further studies are needed to standardize these techniques.

Keywords: Drug delivery systems; Fluorouracil; Hypopigmentation; Skin aging