cholecalciferol and Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a multifactorial disorder characterized by the appearance of white maculae that may spread over the entire body skin. Depigmentation arises from the loss of functioning melanocytes. Non segmental vitiligo (NSV) is the most common form of the disease: it is usually progressive and may be associated with familiarity and autoimmunity. Segmental vitiligo (SV) frequently stabilizes few years after its onset. Vitiligo etiology involves multiple pathogenetic factors, most of them working in concert. Impaired antioxidative defences lead to accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which affect melanocytes. Mitochondrial membrane lipid peroxidation may participate to ROS overproduction. A temporal sequence may connect oxidative stress and autoimmunity. Overall, a genetic predisposition renders vitiligo melanocytes more susceptible to precipitating factors than normal healthy melanocytes. The definition of isolated or superimposed manifestations of polygenic skin disorders has been proposed for SV and SV-NSV association. Keratinocytes and melanocytes are both affected and apoptosis, ageing or melanocythorragy are the ultimate effects of the complex deregulation in vitiligo skin. Pathogenetic therapies mainly act by inducing immunosuppression and stimulation of melanocyte proliferation and migration. Here the most popular hypotheses for the pathogenesis of vitiligo are summarized. Fundamental cellular, biochemical and molecular alterations accounting for melanocyte destruction in vitiligo are also described. Last, pathogenetic approaches in the treatment of such a complex disease are discussed, with particular consideration on the cellular and molecular targets of the current therapies.

Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Apoptosis; Autoimmune Diseases; Calcineurin Inhibitors; Cholecalciferol; Dermatologic Agents; Enzyme Inhibitors; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Humans; Melanocytes; Oxidative Stress; Photochemotherapy; Skin Transplantation; Vitiligo

Topics: Administration, Topical; Adrenal Cortex Hormones; Antioxidants; Autoimmune Diseases; Calcineurin Inhibitors; Cholecalciferol; Humans; Laser Therapy; PUVA Therapy; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; Ultraviolet Therapy; Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a skin disease with a worldwide prevalence ranging from 0.5% to 4%. Conservative therapies include photochemotherapy, phototherapy with UVB radiation (broadband UVB 290-320 nm, narrow band UVB 311 nm), systemic steroids and pseudocatalase. Modern therapeutic options include treatment with topical immunomodulators (tacrolimus, pimecrolimus), analogues of vitamin D3, excimer laser and surgery/transplantation. Our analysis compares these therapies for vitiligo and the evidence levels supporting their effectiveness.. The face and neck respond best to all therapeutic approaches, while the acral areas are least responsive. For generalized vitiligo, phototherapy with UVB radiation is most effective with the fewest side effects; PUVA is the second best choice.Topical corticosteroids are the preferred drugs for localized vitiligo. They may be replaced by topical immunomodulators which display comparable effectiveness and fewer side effects. The effectiveness of vitamin D analogues is controversial with limited data. Surgical therapy can be very successful, but requires an experienced surgeon and is very demanding of time and facilities, thus limiting its widespread use. L-phenylalanine therapy appears effective on the face but enjoys neither widespread use nor extensive data support. No single therapy for vitiligo can be regarded as the most effective as the success of each treatment modality depends on the type and location of vitiligo.

Topics: Cholecalciferol; Clinical Trials as Topic; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Immunologic Factors; Laser Therapy; Periodicals as Topic; Phototherapy; Practice Patterns, Physicians'; Prevalence; Steroids; Treatment Outcome; Vitiligo

Rhododendrol (RD), 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanol, inhibits melanin synthesis and has been used for skin-whitening cosmetic products. RD has been very effective in lightening skin pigmentation, but some persons have developed so-called RD vitiligo, in which vitiligo starts on the face, neck and hands where topical RD has been applied and even extended over skin areas where RD has not been applied. RD vitiligo lesions in some patients have lasted for years and have been resistant to conventional vitiligo treatments. We examined the effects of cholecalciferol on RD vitiligo in a blinded randomized clinical trial. Forty-eight female RD vitiligo patients were recruited for the trial and were randomized into two groups: the vitamin D (VD)-intervention group that received daily 5000 IU cholecalciferol for 5 months and the control group. Three blinded investigators scored vitiligo improvement by comparing photographic images of baseline and at 5-month observation. Serum 25(OH)D3 of RD vitiligo patients was not significantly different from age-matched healthy volunteers. Twenty-two in the VD-intervention group and 23 in the control group completed the 5-month observation. Serum 25(OH)D3 levels were significantly increased after the 5-month VD intervention, while the control group did not change. The improvement scores were significantly higher in the VD-intervention group than the control group. The improvement scores were positively correlated with the serum 25(OH)D3 levels after the 5-month intervention period but not before the treatment. This blinded randomized clinical trial showed favor in administrating 5000 IU cholecalciferol daily to RD vitiligo patients.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Adult; Aged; Butanols; Calcifediol; Cholecalciferol; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Photography; Skin; Skin Lightening Preparations; Treatment Outcome; Vitamins; Vitiligo

Recently, there are some reports that combination therapy with topical vitamin D(3) ointment and PUVA (psonalen ultraviolet A) or vitamin D(3) alone improved vitiligo. We conducted an open trial on 27 patients, most of whom had poor clinical responses to the prior therapies, topical steroid ointment and PUVA. The clinical effect revealed that 13 of 27 patients showed more than 30% improvement. Combination therapy with topical vitamin D(3) ointment and linear polarrised infrared, UVA, solar irradiation, can be used as an alternative therapy for vitiligo vulgaris.

Topics: Administration, Topical; Adult; Aged; Child; Cholecalciferol; Combined Modality Therapy; Female; Humans; Infrared Rays; Male; Middle Aged; Ointments; Phototherapy; Treatment Outcome; Ultraviolet Therapy; Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a depigmenting disorder caused by the destruction of melanocytes by various mechanisms which affect melanocyte function and survival. Different therapeutic approaches for vitiligo include nonsurgical and surgical methods but effective therapy is still challenging. There are few studies that suggest the role of vitamin D analogs in the repigmentation process with encouraging results. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the effect of topical vitamin D (cholecalciferol) combined with microneedling in the treatment of depigmented patches of vitiligo.. Evaluate the effect of microneedling alone versus microneedling with topical vitamin D in the treatment of vitiligo.. A prospective comparative clinical trial was carried out on 25 patients with stable vitiligo; every patient had at least two patches; the first patch was treated with microneedling alone. The other patch was treated with microneedling combined with topical cholecalciferol.. Good-to-excellent response was detected in 52% of the patches treated with microneedling topical cholecalciferol, while only in 40% of the patches treated with microneedling alone. The improvement was higher in combined treatment with no significant difference between both groups.. Topical cholecalciferol is a relatively effective and safe alternative in the treatment of stable vitiligo and its combination with microneedling increases its efficacy.

Topics: Cholecalciferol; Combined Modality Therapy; Humans; Prospective Studies; Treatment Outcome; Vitamin D; Vitiligo

Several chemical compounds can restore pigmentation in vitiligo through mechanisms that vary according to disease etiology. In the present study, we investigated the melanogenic activity of six structurally distinct compounds, namely, scopoletin, kaempferol, chrysin, vitamin D

Topics: Alkaloids; Animals; Benzodioxoles; Benzyl Compounds; Cholecalciferol; Flavonoids; Humans; Kaempferols; Melanins; Monophenol Monooxygenase; Pigmentation; Piperidines; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Purines; Scopoletin; Vitiligo; Zebrafish

Vitiligo is a refractory skin disease. To investigate the risk factors and treatment responses of patients with vitiligo in Japan, we recorded and analyzed the details of 713 vitiligo patients (comorbidity, treatment responses, family history, age, and sex) who visited the dermatology clinic of the Nagoya City University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan between January 2004 and August 2010 (mean age, 35.2 years; 302 men, 411 women) using logistic regression analysis. The results are expressed as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Patients were diagnosed with vitiligo [n = 644; 338 generalized type (47.4%), 170 segmental type (23.8%), and 136 localized type (19.1%)], nevus depigmentosus (n = 53, 7.4%), halo nevus (n = 14, 2.0%), and hypomelanosis of Ito (n = 2, 0.3%). For generalized and localized types, none of the analyzed factors were statistically significant. For the segmental type, antinuclear antibody (OR = 1.005; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01; p < 0.05) and onset age < 14 years were the significant factors in patients between 15 years and 29 years (OR = 0.246; 95% CI, 0.113-0.538; p < 0.001), 30-54 years (OR = 0.0419; 95% CI, 0.0133-0.132; p < 0.001), and >55 years (OR = 0.0171; 95% CI, 0.00333-0.0879; p < 0.001). The treatment response rates for narrow-band UV-B, topical vitamin D3, and punch graft (1 mm minigraft) were, respectively, as follows: (1) generalized type: 46.3%, 21.1%, and 38.9%; (2) segmental type: 20.3%, 29.0%, and 77.3%; and (3) localized type: 29.2%, 54.8%, and 73.3%. We report the comorbidities and efficacy rates of these treatments. The response data for these treatments, in particular, would be of assistance to the previous explanations, because there were only a few reports on the response data for these treatments. The appropriate treatment should be selected depending on the type of vitiligo.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Cholecalciferol; Female; Humans; Japan; Male; Middle Aged; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Vitiligo; Young Adult

Topics: Administration, Topical; Cholecalciferol; Humans; Vitiligo