Prevage MD Antioxidant Cream
Allergan Inc. best known for it's Botox product recently released, Prevage MD containing idebenone, an antioxidant the company says reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
The cream is expensive and it is only available through doctors offices even though Prevage MD is not a drug and does not require a prescription. It's an exclusive product and many articles by beauty, fashion magazines and the news have heightened the appeal.
In the fall, dermatologists around Los Angeles say, patients-in-the-know began calling and demanding the 1-ounce vials of the then impossible-to-find lotion. In December, Allergan sent Prevage MD to a select group of about a dozen doctors around the country, who began selling it to patients.
Only a select few doctors carry the product and it's not available in all states currently according to the companies website.
"It's the greatest, hottest, supposedly new thing on the market," says Dr. John Joseph, a Beverly Hills dermatologist. "I don't have much experience [with Prevage MD], but I finally got some in my hot little hands."
What sets Prevage MD apart from the raft of other anti-aging creams, lotions and potions in the massive "cosmeceutical" market is the science behind it.
Allergan's Web site describes idebenone, the active ingredient in Prevage MD, as "scientifically proven to be the most potent antioxidant available in skin care today."
Idebenone is a synthetic antioxidant. Sun, smog, cigarette smoke and even oxygen create byproducts, known as free radicals, which cause damage to the skin. Antioxidants scavenge these free radicals before they can cause that damage. Vitamin C, vitamin E, Kinetin, coenzyme Q10 and alpha lipoic acid are antioxidants found in various skin products.
Idebenone is a synthetic form of coenzyme Q10, but easier to absorb into the skin. But some scientists say how antioxidants react in a laboratory test does not mean they will have the same effects in preventing or repairing skin aging.
Allergan commissioned Pharma Cosmetix Research, a Richmond, Va., product development company that works with pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies, to conduct tests to compare idebenone with five other antioxidants used in skincare products.
The research, done by dermatologists at the University of California, San Francisco but not yet published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, found that application of idebenone reduced the number of sun-damaged cells on five patients' skin, ages 18 to 60, by more than 38 percent, outperforming other antioxidants tested.
Several other lab experiments also showed idebenone to be highly effective.
Pharma Cosmetix then did a small clinical study on Prevage MD. Twenty-one women between the ages of 18 and 65 with dry facial skin and fine lines and wrinkles used Prevage MD, which contains 1 percent idebenone, twice a day.
"After six weeks of product use, a 26 percent reduction in skin roughness/dryness was observed, a 29 percent reduction in fine lines and wrinkles was obtained, a 33 percent overall global improvement in the appearance of the skin and up to a 37 percent increase in skin hydration was observed," according to Allergan marketers.
Neither study has been published in a scientific journal, a common yardstick that doctors use to weigh the validity of medical research.
Also, the clinical trial did not compare Prevage MD with any other product. Joseph A. Lewis II, Pharma Cosmetix's president and chief executive, said the company planned further tests.
Unlike with drugs such as Botox, the Food and Drug Administration is able to regulate cosmetics only after products are released into the marketplace. Neither cosmetic products nor cosmetic ingredients are reviewed or approved by the FDA before they are sold to the public.
"The big thing about this product," says West Los Angeles dermatologist Heather Roberts, who appeared recently on a local television news segment about Prevage MD, "is that it does have some great basic science research behind it, showing it can clinically help decrease brown spots, refine lines and help hydrate skin."
Other dermatologists are taking a more cautious approach, noting that the Allergan-funded studies involved very few patients.
"We will know in two to three years, when a bunch of doctors like me have used it with their patients, whether it really works," says Joseph, the Beverly Hills dermatologist.
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