Exosome Evidence Index

Studies / Acne scars

Umbilical cord exosomes with subcision for severe acne scars

Pastrana-López S, Journal of Stem Cell Research, 2024

Improvement reported, no control groupStrength of design, level 1 of 5: Single case or case series

Improvement reported, no control group: Patients improved, but without a comparison group there is no way to tell whether the treatment caused it.

Level 1 of 5: One patient or a handful, described without a comparison. It can raise an idea; it cannot show that a treatment works.

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Design
Case report
People
1 person
Made from
Umbilical cord
How it was given
Injected under the skin with subcision

What they found

The patient's acne scar score fell from 180 to 90 points.

What limits it

One patient who also had PRP and other treatments, so the exosome effect cannot be separated.

Read the study

Reviewed by Tomaz Mesar, MD. Last reviewed October 2026. No exosome product is FDA-approved for any use. Before you book a treatment

Other studies of acne scars

  1. Better than controlStrength of design, level 3 of 5: Controlled trial

    Adipose stem cell exosomes plus fractional CO₂ laser for acne scars

    Kwon HH et al., Acta Dermato-Venereologica, 2020. 25 people. Made from: fat (adipose) stem cells.

    Scar severity fell 32.5% on the exosome side and 19.9% on the control side. More exosome-treated sides improved by at least two grades (16 of 25 vs 12 of 25), and redness after laser was milder.