Living with vitiligo can be difficult. Not only can the problem affect the mucus membranes of the body, it can also reduce the person's self-esteem as the blotches of white spots can spread, attracting stares from anyone. Fortunately, there's a drug that may treat it, and it's been around for some time.
According to a newly published study in JAMA Dermatology, a medication that is meant to manage rheumatoid arthritis can treat the skin disease. This after a woman from Connecticut regained her natural skin color.
This medication is called tofacitinib. Two Yale University assistant professors for the Department of Dermatology, Dr. Brittany Craiglow and Dr. Brett King, discovered its effectiveness when the same medication was able to treat alopecia areata, a hair loss characterized by the presence of patchy or diffuse pattern. It is an autoimmune disorder wherein the body's own immunity prevents the hair follicles from producing the hair.
Since many studies have already established the link between alopecia areata and vitiligo, the researchers hypothesized that the drug may also be helpful in treating the skin disorder.
To test it, they worked with a 53-year-old woman who had prominent vitiligo appearing on the body, hands, and face, with the condition only progressing or spreading.
The results started to appear around the fifth month of regular treatment, in which repigmentation begins. The following month, only very few white spots have remained, and the woman's skin has become significantly even and natural looking.
Although the researchers are aware they need more studies, they are positive they can replicate the same effect.
Vitiligo is a skin disorder that is now being associated with autoimmune disorders. It is characterized by white blotchy spots as the skin's melanocytes, the cells that produce the pigment, are being destroyed. With the loss of the pigment, the body loses its ability to protect itself from the harmful rays of the sun. So far, more than 1.5 million people in the United States have vitiligo.
