Vitiligo developments include phototherapy, epidermal graft harvesting treatments

Study results finding that long-duration phototherapy for vitiligo enhanced treatment response was among the recent developments reported on Healio.com/Dermatology.

Other findings included research presented at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting that an epidermal graft harvesting system was an effective alternative to split-thickness skin grafting in treating patients with vitiligo:

Long-duration phototherapy for vitiligo enhances treatment response

Long-duration phototherapy should be encouraged to enhance vitiligo treatment response, with the most effective response expected on the face and neck, according to a recent review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Dermatology.

Researchers in South Korea conducted a comprehensive database search of Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library from inception to Jan. 26, 2016. Read more

Topical ruxolitinib provides repigmentation in patients with facial vitiligo

Patients with facial vitiligo experienced significant repigmentation after treatment with topical ruxolitinib 1.5% cream, according to recently published study results.

The researchers conducted a 20-week, open-label, proof-of-concept study at Tufts Medical Center in Boston of 11 patients (54.5% men; mean age, 52 years) with a minimum of 1% affected body surface are of vitiligo. Read more

Melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation offers long-term repigmentation for vitiligo, leukodermas

Patients with vitiligo and other leukodermas experienced long-term repigmentation up to 72 months after treatment with a melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation procedure, according to recently published study results in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Iltefat H. Hamzavi, MD, of the dermatology department at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, and colleagues conducted a retrospective review of electronic records of 100 patients with vitiligo or other leukodermas who underwent melanocyte-keratinocyte transplantation procedure (MKTP) between January 2009 and April 2014. Read more

Epidermal graft harvesting effective alternative treatment for vitiligo

ORLANDO, Fla. — An epidermal graft harvesting system was an effective alternative to split-thickness skin grafting in treating patients with vitiligo, according to research presented at a late-breaking research forum of the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.

“[The] epidermal harvesting system (cellutome) combines negative pressure and heat to form epidermal micrografts,” presenter Sanober Daruwalla, MBBS, of Mumbai, India, and colleagues reported. “It has minimal donor site morbidity and is relative pain-free, allowing autologous skin grafting in an outpatient setting. Read more

VIDEO: Treatment for pigmentary disorders including vitiligo and melasma

ORLANDO, Fla. — In a video perspective from the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, Andrew Alexis, MD, MPH, discusses treatment for disorders of pigmentation.

Alexis, chairman of the department of dermatology, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West, discussed treatment for vitiligo, including oral Janus kinase inhibitors, and melasma. Watch video