A Double-Blind Placebo Controlled Therapeutic Trial on Patients with Stable Non-Segmental Vitiligo Using a Specially Formulated Reducing Antioxidant Gel Enhanced by Excimer Light Exposure

Abstract

Article information Background: Vitiligo is a common skin condition that causes patches of lightening that affect 0.2 to 0.5 percent of the world's population. It is marked by chalky white macules because melanocytes are being selectively lost. Several ideas have been put forward about what causes the disease, such as an autoimmune, genetic, neural, biochemical, melanocyte cell self-destruction, or oxidative stress theory, which means that too much hydrogen peroxide [H2O2] builds up in the top layer of skin. Aim of the Study: We want to find out how well a special gel called "pseudo catalase" with reducing ingredients fights the over-oxygenation of skin melanocytes and epidermal cells that is made worse by excimer light exposure in a person with stable non-segmental vitiligo compared to a gel that doesn't do anything different on the same person. Patients and Methods: The study included 31 stable non-segmental vitiligo patients who attended the dermatological outpatients' clinic at Al-Hussein University Hospital in Cairo, Egypt, during the period between September 2021 and August 2022. The study was divided into 2 groups of lesions in the same patient: group A [test gel + excimer light, Narrow Band UVB exposure] and group B [placebo gel + excimer light, Narrow Band UVB exposure]. Results: The following results were recorded for our patients: The mean age was 25.7 ± 9.3 years. There were 18 males [58.1%] and 13 females [41.9%]. 22 patients [71%] were of skin type III and 9 cases [29%] were of skin type IV. The VASI score values detected showed a great difference before and after treatment, as group A was [0.42 ± 0.3] when compared with the VASI score in group B [1.12 ± 0.5]. Conclusion: Excimer-light-enhanced topical antioxidant pseudo-catalase gel is a highly efficient therapy in the treatment of stable non-segmental vitiligo.