Vitiligo

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Vitiligo

Vitiligo, drug induced

Vitiligo on the face

Tuberous sclerosis, hypopigmented macule

Vitiligo on the back and arm

Vitiligo

Treatment:

Vitiligo is difficult to treat. Early treatment options include the following:

Exposure to intense ultraviolet light, such as narrow-band UVB therapy
Oral medications, such as Trisoralen (trimethylpsoralen)
Topical medications
- Repigmenting agents such as Oxsoralen (methoxsalen)
- Immunosuppressants such as Elidel (pimecrolimus) and Protopic (tacrolimus)
- Corticosteroid creams

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Skin may be grafted, or removed from normal areas and placed into areas of pigment loss. In the future, skin pigment cells may be grown in the laboratory and used to treat areas of vitiligo.

Support Groups:

VitiligoSupport.com, www.vitiligosupport.com
American Vitiligo Research Foundation,www.avrf.org
National Vitiligo Foundation, www.nvfi.org

Expectations (prognosis):

The course of vitiligo varies. Some areas may repigment, but other new areas may appear. Depigmentation may be progressive.

Complications:

Depigmented areas are more likely to sunburn or develop certain skin cancers. Vitiligo is associated with three systemic diseases: 1) pernicious anemia, 2) hyperthyroidism, and 3) Addison's disease.

Calling your health care provider:

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you develop areas of skin that lose their coloring.