Q:I suffer from vitiligo and would like to know about any new treatments that are available.
The condition covers large areas of my body and affects my personal self-confidence.I have heard about a new treatment that is supposed to have a 90 per cent success rate called natural co-enzyme tetrahydrobiopterin.
Please could you tell me more about this treatment.
A:
Vitiligo is said to affect one in 200 people. Skin cells produce a pigment called melanin. Vitiligo develops when skin cells die or are unable to hold melanin.The skin is stripped of pigment, leaving blotchy marks that are especially noticeable on darker skin types. It is rare for the pigment to return.
The underlying cause is uncertain, but the cell malfunction could be hereditary in some patients, or possibly related to a faulty immune system.
Vitiligo can occur at any age, in either sex and on any part of the body. It is, however, more common in women than men. The most commonly affected areas are the hands, neck, back and wrist in that order.
Symptoms of vitiligo:
Vitiligo usually starts with a small white spot and later develops into patches. These patches are pale in the beginning but became darker as time passes due increase in loss of melanin. As the spots enlarge, they merge into one another and, in the course of time, form a broad patch. In some cases, most of the skin of the body can be covered with white patches.
The spread of Vitiligo is usually slow and progressive. The spots generally tend to grow symmetrically on both the sides of the body however in some cases, vitiligo spreads randomly all over the body.
Vitiligo can vary in size, shape, intensity of the loss of color and in the profile of their distribution. Some times Vitiligo becomes a chronic skin condition while in other cases it may even regress on its own.
How to treat Vitiligo
We have figured out through many years researches that Vitiligo has close relation with immune system, antibodies against melanin, predisposing factors, network activity of neuraminidase, genetic and other factors,so,we gotta figure out the trigger first, and then We use the latest development of Integrated Chinese and Western medicine with advanced large-scale medical equipment at the same time according to the trigger, this treatment is called SOD6+1. Clinical use effect is pretty obvious.
Early, first-line treatment options include the following:
Topical treatments - medicines applied to the skin, such as: corticosteroid creams, immunosuppressant creams, or topical drugs.
Phototherapy - a medical procedure in which your skin is carefully exposed to ultraviolet light.
Climatotherapy - a natural treatment, primarily relying on the Dead Sea mineral waters and sun exposure.
Second-line treatment options include the following:
Systemic treatments, as an injectable or oral drug.
Surgical therapies that transfer parts of normal skin to cover vitiligo areas.
Depigmentation, a permanent loss of the remaining color, as a last resort.
Some cover-up makeups can mask vitiligo. You may need to experiment with several brands of concealing cosmetics before finding the product that works best for you.
Vitiligo should be approached as a chronic disease - although it can not be cured at present, it can be managed successfully in many cases. Even if vitiligo is treated successfully, it may reoccur without warning at any time, and the definite causes or triggers are, as yet, not specifically known. Vitiligo patients will need a regular, life-long "maintenance" therapy that may include vitamins B6 or B12, Ginkgo biloba (see photo above) or other, typically prescribed by the dermatologist based on blood test results and regular check ups.
if you have any question about skin disease such as vitiligo ,psoriasis,Eczema and so on ,you can email us bjmeidi@hotmail.com
