Controversial issues in vitiligo patients: a review of old and recent treatments

Abstract

Vitiligo is quite a common hypopigmentary disorder, which may affect both children and adults with important psychological effects due to the well-known leopard skin-like appearance. The authors summarize in the present study the published evidence on vitiligo with particular interest on the controversial aspects of the disease, such as its definition and the available treatments.

Apremilast is effective in controlling the progression of adult vitiligo: A case series

“…Treatment of vitiligo involves the control of progression of disease and repigmentation of the lesions that have already developed in the patient. Treatment options for controlling the progression of vitiligo include systemic steroids in daily or oral minipulse (OMP) form, systemic immunosuppressants, narrowband UVB (NBUVB), and some less documented therapies including cytokines, antioxidants, and so on (Lotti et al, ; Majid, Masood, Hassan, Khan, & Chisti, ; Rodrigues et al, ). Many of these treatment options carry the risk of both short‐term as well as long‐term adverse effects.…”

Fluorescence‐advanced videodermatoscopy: A promising and potential technique for the in vivo evaluation of vitiligo

“…At the time of examination, all patients were undergoing treatment with narrowband UVB, resulting in partial repigmentation. Indeed phototherapies are considered as first‐line therapy due to their good efficacy and tolerance (Lotti et al, ). We evaluated the lesions of the dorsum of the hands and feet in both sexes and with no age limitation and acquired images from the lesional skin of each patient, repigmented areas and healthy skin (Figure a,b).…”

Effectiveness of topicalNigella sativafor vitiligo treatment

“…Although the etiopathogenesis of vitiligo is not clear, genetic, autoimmune, biochemical, and neural factors(Lotti et al, ) that result in melanocyte destruction via immune dysregulation, catecholamine‐mediated cytotoxicity, and oxidative stress have been implicated (Cohen et al, ). Stress‐induced catecholamine release leads to vasoconstriction and increases the formation of oxygen radicals that may cause melanocyte destruction.…”

“…Vitiligo is a cutaneous hypomelanosis, accompanied by melanocyte loss, with a worldwide prevalence of 1–4 and no sexual predominance (Cohen, Elbuluk, Mu, & Orlow, ; Lotti et al, ). In 50% of cases, lesions develop before the age of 20 years and a familial susceptibility has been described (Ghorbanibirgani, Khalili, & Rokhafrooz, ).…”

“…Current treatment options result in unsatisfactory repigmentation, even with a long treatment duration. Together with the side effects of the drugs, this has led to interest in new treatment modalities, including herbal preparations(Cohen et al, ; Lotti et al, ) such as piperine, fish oil, Chinese herbal therapy, Ginkgo biloba , khellin, and capsaicin(Chen, Chen, Wu, & Chi, ; Cohen et al, ; Ghorbanibirgani et al, ; Lotti et al, ; Mohammed, Gomaa, & Al‐Dhubaibi, ).…”