By David Douglas
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In a pilot study in patients with vitiligo, a gain-switched 311-nm titanium sapphire laser showed results comparable to those typically achieved with a xenon chloride excimer device, according to Korean researchers.
The response was “fast and remarkable," Dr. Jung Min Bae told Reuters Health by email.
In a July 19 online paper in JAMA Dermatology, Dr. Bae and colleagues at The Catholic University of Korea in Suwon note that narrow-band UV-B phototherapy - the most widely used phototherapy for the condition - can lead to unnecessary UV exposure to normal skin.
Because most patients have localized vitiligo, targeted phototherapy using a 308-nm xenon chloride excimer laser (EL) has been considered the treatment of choice in such circumstances. However, the 311-nm TSL device, based on the peak spectrum of narrow-band UV-B, has become available and the team sought to evaluate it.
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Among advantages of the TSL, say the investigators, is that "it does not require the periodic gas charging that is crucial for EL maintenance. In addition, the 311-nm wavelength of TSL can penetrate deeper than the 308-nm wavelength of EL."
In an open-label trial, the researchers used the TSL in 14 subjects who had nonsegmental vitiligo with lesions on the face and neck. The treatment dose started at 300 mJ/cm2 and was increased in each subsequent session until onset of post-treatment erythema. Median treatment duration was 3.7 months and median treatment was for 23 sessions.
Two dermatologists independently compared photographs of final follow-up with those at baseline. Eleven patients showed excellent to complete repigmentation after a median of 21 treatments. Of the remaining three patients, repigmentation was considered good in two and moderate in one.
Five patients had erythema lasting more than 48 hours, but this improved spontaneously after three to four days. No one stopped treatment due to adverse effects.
The researchers call TSL "a promising option" and are currently recruiting subjects for a clinical trial comparing EL and TSL.
Commenting by email, dermatologist Dr. Jonathan Silverberg of the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, told Reuters Health that although there was no control arm, the results are interesting.
However, he said, the representative photos of results "don't look particularly good, and usually authors choose photos of their best responses. So, it's not so earth shattering."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2vT4mxf
JAMA Dermatol 2017.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Click For Restrictions - https://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
By David Douglas
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In a pilot study in patients with vitiligo, a gain-switched 311-nm titanium sapphire laser showed results comparable to those typically achieved with a xenon chloride excimer device, according to Korean researchers.
The response was “fast and remarkable," Dr. Jung Min Bae told Reuters Health by email.
In a July 19 online paper in JAMA Dermatology, Dr. Bae and colleagues at The Catholic University of Korea in Suwon note that narrow-band UV-B phototherapy - the most widely used phototherapy for the condition - can lead to unnecessary UV exposure to normal skin.
Because most patients have localized vitiligo, targeted phototherapy using a 308-nm xenon chloride excimer laser (EL) has been considered the treatment of choice in such circumstances. However, the 311-nm TSL device, based on the peak spectrum of narrow-band UV-B, has become available and the team sought to evaluate it.
________________________________________________________________________
Related Content
Transplanted Skin Cells Can Provide Lasting Repigmentation of Vitiligo
Biomarkers Tied to Vitiligo Activity and Progression
________________________________________________________________________
Among advantages of the TSL, say the investigators, is that "it does not require the periodic gas charging that is crucial for EL maintenance. In addition, the 311-nm wavelength of TSL can penetrate deeper than the 308-nm wavelength of EL."
In an open-label trial, the researchers used the TSL in 14 subjects who had nonsegmental vitiligo with lesions on the face and neck. The treatment dose started at 300 mJ/cm2 and was increased in each subsequent session until onset of post-treatment erythema. Median treatment duration was 3.7 months and median treatment was for 23 sessions.
Two dermatologists independently compared photographs of final follow-up with those at baseline. Eleven patients showed excellent to complete repigmentation after a median of 21 treatments. Of the remaining three patients, repigmentation was considered good in two and moderate in one.
Five patients had erythema lasting more than 48 hours, but this improved spontaneously after three to four days. No one stopped treatment due to adverse effects.
The researchers call TSL "a promising option" and are currently recruiting subjects for a clinical trial comparing EL and TSL.
Commenting by email, dermatologist Dr. Jonathan Silverberg of the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, told Reuters Health that although there was no control arm, the results are interesting.
However, he said, the representative photos of results "don't look particularly good, and usually authors choose photos of their best responses. So, it's not so earth shattering."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2vT4mxf
JAMA Dermatol 2017.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Click For Restrictions - https://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
By David Douglas
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In a pilot study in patients with vitiligo, a gain-switched 311-nm titanium sapphire laser showed results comparable to those typically achieved with a xenon chloride excimer device, according to Korean researchers.
The response was “fast and remarkable," Dr. Jung Min Bae told Reuters Health by email.
In a July 19 online paper in JAMA Dermatology, Dr. Bae and colleagues at The Catholic University of Korea in Suwon note that narrow-band UV-B phototherapy - the most widely used phototherapy for the condition - can lead to unnecessary UV exposure to normal skin.
Because most patients have localized vitiligo, targeted phototherapy using a 308-nm xenon chloride excimer laser (EL) has been considered the treatment of choice in such circumstances. However, the 311-nm TSL device, based on the peak spectrum of narrow-band UV-B, has become available and the team sought to evaluate it.
________________________________________________________________________
Related Content
Transplanted Skin Cells Can Provide Lasting Repigmentation of Vitiligo
Biomarkers Tied to Vitiligo Activity and Progression
________________________________________________________________________
Among advantages of the TSL, say the investigators, is that "it does not require the periodic gas charging that is crucial for EL maintenance. In addition, the 311-nm wavelength of TSL can penetrate deeper than the 308-nm wavelength of EL."
In an open-label trial, the researchers used the TSL in 14 subjects who had nonsegmental vitiligo with lesions on the face and neck. The treatment dose started at 300 mJ/cm2 and was increased in each subsequent session until onset of post-treatment erythema. Median treatment duration was 3.7 months and median treatment was for 23 sessions.
Two dermatologists independently compared photographs of final follow-up with those at baseline. Eleven patients showed excellent to complete repigmentation after a median of 21 treatments. Of the remaining three patients, repigmentation was considered good in two and moderate in one.
Five patients had erythema lasting more than 48 hours, but this improved spontaneously after three to four days. No one stopped treatment due to adverse effects.
The researchers call TSL "a promising option" and are currently recruiting subjects for a clinical trial comparing EL and TSL.
Commenting by email, dermatologist Dr. Jonathan Silverberg of the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, told Reuters Health that although there was no control arm, the results are interesting.
However, he said, the representative photos of results "don't look particularly good, and usually authors choose photos of their best responses. So, it's not so earth shattering."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2vT4mxf
JAMA Dermatol 2017.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Click For Restrictions - https://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
