Vitiligo is a medical condition in which the skin loses its natural pigmentation and develops colourless patches that soon cover the entire body, changing the person's complexion in those parts significantly. What exactly causes vitiligo is still a subject of investigation, but in most cases it occurs in people who have family members who are diabetic, who suffer from thyroid disease or who themselves are vitiligo patients.
The lack of social acceptance associated with the disease has hardly changed over the years, and this causes great agony for the patients who then end up desperately looking for a cure to this disease. Spreading of patches can either be stopped completely or their growth can be reduced through treatment. However, re-pigmentation of skin is possible too for patients who have not seen any noticeable spread of the disease for more than two years.
The most common vitiligo treatment, PUVA, consists of the patient taking an oral psoralen compound, and two hours later the de-pigmented patch is exposed to UV rays or sunlight for a short period. This particular cure has shown remarkable results in about 60% of vitiligo cases.
There are surgical options available as well for vitiligo treatment, which have been extensively used over the last few years. Most such treatments involve miniature punch grafting. Using a punch instrument, a surgeon takes a number of punches from the donor's skin, each around 2 mm in diameter, and grafts them on to the affected areas of the patient's skin. After the surgery, the patients undergo PUVA therapy, which leads to regeneration of melanocytes, which cause pigmentation of the skin.
Ultra thin skin grafting, where a thin layer of skin is grafted on to promote the transference of melanocytes, and suction blister grafting are variations of the same line of treatment. Both of these yield noticeable cosmetic results.
There are a few other cures as well with different success rates, both in traditional and alternative medicine. Besides, a complete cure for vitiligo may soon be a reality, with researchers making significant progress in stem cell research. - 30415
The lack of social acceptance associated with the disease has hardly changed over the years, and this causes great agony for the patients who then end up desperately looking for a cure to this disease. Spreading of patches can either be stopped completely or their growth can be reduced through treatment. However, re-pigmentation of skin is possible too for patients who have not seen any noticeable spread of the disease for more than two years.
The most common vitiligo treatment, PUVA, consists of the patient taking an oral psoralen compound, and two hours later the de-pigmented patch is exposed to UV rays or sunlight for a short period. This particular cure has shown remarkable results in about 60% of vitiligo cases.
There are surgical options available as well for vitiligo treatment, which have been extensively used over the last few years. Most such treatments involve miniature punch grafting. Using a punch instrument, a surgeon takes a number of punches from the donor's skin, each around 2 mm in diameter, and grafts them on to the affected areas of the patient's skin. After the surgery, the patients undergo PUVA therapy, which leads to regeneration of melanocytes, which cause pigmentation of the skin.
Ultra thin skin grafting, where a thin layer of skin is grafted on to promote the transference of melanocytes, and suction blister grafting are variations of the same line of treatment. Both of these yield noticeable cosmetic results.
There are a few other cures as well with different success rates, both in traditional and alternative medicine. Besides, a complete cure for vitiligo may soon be a reality, with researchers making significant progress in stem cell research. - 30415
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