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http://www.epilepsyproject.org/xml/pr_1120829400
Laser treatment reduces severity of facial hirsutism, improves QOL
Women's Health Weekly via NewsEdge Corporation :
2005 JUL 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to a study from England, "Facial hirsutism is one of the characteristic features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and this can lead to high levels of depression and anxiety."
W.J. Clayton and colleagues, Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, London, assessed "the impact of laser treatment on the severity of facial hirsutism and on psychological morbidity in women with PCOS."
"A randomized controlled trial of five high-fluence treatments (intervention) vs. five low-fluence treatments (control) was performed over 6 months in a National Health Service teaching hospital. Subjects were 88 women with facial hirsutism due to PCOS recruited from hospital outpatient clinics and a patient support group in 2001-2002.
"The main outcomes were self-reported severity of facial hair (measured on a scale of 1-10), depression, anxiety (measured on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and quality of life (measured on the WHOQOL-BREF)," the researchers wrote.
According to study results, "Self-reported severity of facial hair in the intervention group (n=51) fell from 7.3 to 3.6 over the 6-month study period; for the control group (n=37) the corresponding scores were 7.1 and 6.1. The change was significantly greater in the intervention group [ANCOVA F-(1,F-83)=24.5; p<0.05]."
Clayton and colleagues said the women's "self-reported time spent on hair removal declined from 112 to 21 minutes per week in the intervention group and from 92 to 56 minutes in the control group [F-(1,F-80)=10.2; pless than or equal to0.05].
"Mean depression scores fell from 6.7 to 3.6 in the intervention group, compared with 6.1 to 5.4 in the control group [F-(1,F-83)=14.7; p<0.05]. A similar change was seen for mean anxiety scores: intervention 11.1 to 8.2, control 9.6 to 9.3 [F-(1,F-84)=17.8; p<0.05]. Psychological quality of life also improved more in the intervention group, from 49.6 to 61.2 vs. 50.1 to 51.5 in the control group [F-(1,F-84)=10.9; p<0.05]."
The researchers concluded, "Laser treatment appeared to reduce the severity of facial hair and time spent on hair removal as well as alleviating depression and anxiety in women with PCOS. These findings suggest that ways of making this method of hair removal more widely available to women with facial hirsutism should be considered."
Clayton and coauthors published the results of their research in British Journal of Dermatology (A randomized controlled trial of laser treatment among hirsute women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Br J Dermatol, 2005;152(5):986-992).
For additional information, contact W.J. Clayton, Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, Dept. Dermatology, London, England.
The publisher of the British Journal of Dermatology can be contacted at: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Rd., Oxford OX4 2DG, Oxon, England.
Keywords: London, England, Hirsutism, Laser Treatment, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Quality of Life, Women's Health.
This article was prepared by Women's Health Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2005, Women's Health Weekly via NewsRx.com.
Laser treatment reduces severity of facial hirsutism, improves QOL 
