Abstract
Vitiligo is an acquired chronic disease characterized by circumscribed depigmented macules and patches that result from a progressive loss of functional melanocytes. Its course is unpredictable. Topical corticosteroids and topical calcineurin inhibitors can be used alone or in combination in localized disease. Phototherapy is the treatment of choice in generalized disease. Narrowband UVB phototherapy has superseded psoralen plus UVA (PUVA) photochemotherapy in the treatment of vitiligo because it has been shown to be clinically more effective and it is characterized by a better side effect profile. Surgical treatment with autologous transplantation techniques may be an option for patients with limited and stable disease. Depigmentation should be considered when vitiligo patients have >80 % cutaneous involvement and are recalcitrant to repigmentation.
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Further Reading
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Nicolaidou, E., Katsambas, A.D., Lotti, T.M. (2015). Vitiligo. In: Katsambas, A.D., Lotti, T.M., Dessinioti, C., D’Erme, A.M. (eds) European Handbook of Dermatological Treatments. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45139-7_104
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45139-7_104
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