Title : Treating vitiligo with intense pulsed light (IPL)
Abstract:
Background: Vitiligo is a long-term skin condition characterized by patches of the skin losing their pigment. This study evaluates the efficacy of Intense Pulsed light (IPL) for Chinese patients with vitiligo. Most of them are resistant to conventional vitiligo. We are presenting three Chinese patients with vitiligo resistant to oral and topical treatments successfully managed with intense pulsed light treatment.
Methods: 3 cases with oral and topical medications treated vitiligo Chinese patients referred by other doctors were studied. All three of them received 10 sessions of IPL treatment in a three weeks interval. Clinical photos were taken in every visit. Two individual blinded investigators were asked to assess and compare with the pretreatment photos.
Results: There were significant clinical improvements in the area of depigmentation. Long term follow up is suggested to assess how long the effect can last.
Conclusion: This study suggests IPL is effective in improving the resistant vitiligo. However, long term follow up is needed to assess the duration of repigmentation effect.
