VitiligoWeb.com
I now have a domain name for the blog, VitiligoWeb.com. Just a small change but one that might make the blog easier to find and remember.
Also, I wanted to post about how the winter time is usually a good time for my vitiligo. I have fair skin but in the summertime I tan really well. Ofcourse, when I tan the vitiligo shows up even more. In the last couple years it has started spreading, after not doing much for 10 or 15 years. So it sticks out even more in the summer, but I still wear shorts and t-shirts, and don't try to cover it up. In the fall/winter, my tan starts to go away and the vitiligo is less noticeable again.
Since starting this blog a short time ago, I'm encouraged by the research and treatments being developped, and look forward to seeing it continue.
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Skin Transplant Cure for Vitiligo at Henry Ford Hospital
Encouraging news for people with segmental Vitiligo!
It looks like doctors from the US, India, and Saudi Arabia have combined their knowledge and come up with a skin transplant method that cures vitiligo. It works mostly on segmental vitiligo, which is the kind where you just have a few spots. The transplants are being done at Henry Ford hospital in Michigan, US.
The procedure is done in less than two hours, and you can go home the same day. The cost is about $4,000. Doctors from around the world are studying other vitiligo treatments and cures, involving light therapy, medications, and hormones. It's great to see there is some advancement being made!
to read the full article, click below:
http://www.freep.com/article/20111023/FEATURES08/110230372/Henry-Ford-Hospital-s-pioneering-vitiligo-treatment-draws-worldwide-interest
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It looks like doctors from the US, India, and Saudi Arabia have combined their knowledge and come up with a skin transplant method that cures vitiligo. It works mostly on segmental vitiligo, which is the kind where you just have a few spots. The transplants are being done at Henry Ford hospital in Michigan, US.
The procedure is done in less than two hours, and you can go home the same day. The cost is about $4,000. Doctors from around the world are studying other vitiligo treatments and cures, involving light therapy, medications, and hormones. It's great to see there is some advancement being made!
The color on Siddiqui's face has returned and the patches of white are almost all gone since he underwent skin transplant surgery at the Vitiligo Treatment Center, a unit of the Multicultural Dermatology Center of Henry Ford Hospital's Department of Dermatology.
Siddiqui had two procedures. The first was performed in summer 2007, but the area right below his mouth didn't come back with color. So he repeated the treatment about eight months later. Now, he's thrilled with the results.
to read the full article, click below:
http://www.freep.com/article/20111023/FEATURES08/110230372/Henry-Ford-Hospital-s-pioneering-vitiligo-treatment-draws-worldwide-interest
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Sunday, October 23, 2011
Positive Observations from Clinuvel Vitiligo trial
Here is a press release I found from a company doing trials on a treatment for Vitiligo. Nice to see they are having some positive results!
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Company Announcement
Friday 21st October 2011
Melbourne, Australia
First positive observations from Clinuvel's US vitiligo trial
Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV; XETRA-DAX: UR9; ADR: CLVLY) today announced that early clinical observations from the company's open label Phase II pilot trial (CUV102) of the novel drug SCENESSE® (afamelanotide) in patients with nonsegmental vitiligo (NSV) were presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) meeting in Lisbon overnight.
Two clinical investigators from the CUV102 study - Dr Henry Lim, Chair of Dermatology at the Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan, and Dr Pearl E Grimes, Director of the Vitiligo and Pigmentation Institute of Southern California and Clinical Professor of Dermatology, University of California, Los Angeles - co- presented - during the MSH Society meeting1 at the EADV - their first observations from a cohort of 21 patients undergoing repigmentation treatment for NSV. Slides from this presentation have been appended.
Phase II study design - CUV102
Under the CUV102 protocol, 50% of the patients enrolled are undergoing repigmentation treatment with narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) therapy in combination with SCENESSE®, while the remaining 50% are being treated with NB-UVB alone. Cases from both the SCENESSE® and control groups were presented and discussed at the meeting.
The clinical objectives of the CUV102 trial are to determine whether SCENESSE® reduces the total dose of radiation (NB-UVB) and the time required to reactivate skin pigment producing cells (melanocytes) in vitiliginous lesions. NB-UVB clinically administered thrice per week over 18 months is considered the standard of care in NSV to stimulate repigmentation in depigmented skin and prevent the progression of lesions, but it is only partially effective as a standalone therapy.
Initial observations
Early observations in 21 patients showed that monthly dosing of afamelanotide (16mg implant) in combination with NB-UVB has the capacity to achieve accelerated and deeper pigmentation of vitiliginous skin lesions. A number of patients have required less NB-UVB dosing during the course of combination treatment.
These first findings support the scientific premise that melanocytes are able to adequately respond to pharmaceutical therapy with melanisation of the skin in nonsegmental vitiligo. The majority of patients in this first cohort were African-Americans and Hispanic patients (Fitzpatrick skin types IV-VI) who have been diagnosed with NSV within the last five years.
"Our early observations from Los Angeles and proof-of-concept data suggest that afamelanotide speeds up the repigmentation of these patients," Dr Grimes said. "In today's presentation we discussed the pigmentary response that is seen in patients in the days immediately after drug administration. However, definitive answers as to the drug's effectiveness can only be given after further results emerge and completion of this study. If we were to identify a drug which assists the vitiligo patients in their repigmentary process it would be an enormous advantage to patients worldwide."
"The early clinical observations are promising, though we need more data to arrive at definitive conclusions," Dr Lim said. "It seems from these early observations that the drug increases the rate of repigmentation and response time following narrow band UVB. During the continuation of this multi-centre study, we will analyse which type of vitiligo repigments best with combined treatment and which anatomical areas respond the most."
Nonsegmental vitiligo
Vitiligo is a disease in which there is a loss of melanin (pigment) production resulting in white or off-white depigmented skin lesions on different parts of the body. Nonsegmental vitiligo, the most common subtype of the disease, affects more than 45 million patients worldwide. This disorder may spread over time and cause patients significant psychological and emotional distress. The exact cause of vitiligo is unknown, but it is generally accepted that an autoimmune component may play a role in the disease.
Therapy for vitiligo is intended to arrest depigmentation or provide repigmentation of depigmented lesions. Treatment options exist but many clinical challenges persist in the various patient populations. Not all patients respond to available therapies and relapse is common. NB-UVB therapy has emerged as a mainstay therapy for vitiligo, but requires patients to attend clinics 2-3 times a week for up to 18 months, presenting a treatment and cost burden.
The CUV102 study is ongoing across three centres (California, Michigan and New York) in the USA and is expected to be complete in early 2012. A parallel study (CUV101) is under way in Europe across three centres (France, Italy and Switzerland). The two studies, the first in Clinuvel's INSPIRE (International SCENESSE® Pilot Repigmentation Evaluation) program, will recruit between 80 and 120 patients in total. Interim results from both studies are expected to be announced in the middle of 2012.
- End -
http://www.4-traders.com/CLINUVEL-PHARMACEUTICALS-6492603/news/CLINUVEL-PHARMACEUTICALS-LIMITED-First-positive-observations-from-Clinuvel-s-US-vitiligo-trial-13851076/
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Company Announcement
Friday 21st October 2011
Melbourne, Australia
First positive observations from Clinuvel's US vitiligo trial
Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV; XETRA-DAX: UR9; ADR: CLVLY) today announced that early clinical observations from the company's open label Phase II pilot trial (CUV102) of the novel drug SCENESSE® (afamelanotide) in patients with nonsegmental vitiligo (NSV) were presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) meeting in Lisbon overnight.
Two clinical investigators from the CUV102 study - Dr Henry Lim, Chair of Dermatology at the Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan, and Dr Pearl E Grimes, Director of the Vitiligo and Pigmentation Institute of Southern California and Clinical Professor of Dermatology, University of California, Los Angeles - co- presented - during the MSH Society meeting1 at the EADV - their first observations from a cohort of 21 patients undergoing repigmentation treatment for NSV. Slides from this presentation have been appended.
Phase II study design - CUV102
Under the CUV102 protocol, 50% of the patients enrolled are undergoing repigmentation treatment with narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) therapy in combination with SCENESSE®, while the remaining 50% are being treated with NB-UVB alone. Cases from both the SCENESSE® and control groups were presented and discussed at the meeting.
The clinical objectives of the CUV102 trial are to determine whether SCENESSE® reduces the total dose of radiation (NB-UVB) and the time required to reactivate skin pigment producing cells (melanocytes) in vitiliginous lesions. NB-UVB clinically administered thrice per week over 18 months is considered the standard of care in NSV to stimulate repigmentation in depigmented skin and prevent the progression of lesions, but it is only partially effective as a standalone therapy.
Initial observations
Early observations in 21 patients showed that monthly dosing of afamelanotide (16mg implant) in combination with NB-UVB has the capacity to achieve accelerated and deeper pigmentation of vitiliginous skin lesions. A number of patients have required less NB-UVB dosing during the course of combination treatment.
These first findings support the scientific premise that melanocytes are able to adequately respond to pharmaceutical therapy with melanisation of the skin in nonsegmental vitiligo. The majority of patients in this first cohort were African-Americans and Hispanic patients (Fitzpatrick skin types IV-VI) who have been diagnosed with NSV within the last five years.
"Our early observations from Los Angeles and proof-of-concept data suggest that afamelanotide speeds up the repigmentation of these patients," Dr Grimes said. "In today's presentation we discussed the pigmentary response that is seen in patients in the days immediately after drug administration. However, definitive answers as to the drug's effectiveness can only be given after further results emerge and completion of this study. If we were to identify a drug which assists the vitiligo patients in their repigmentary process it would be an enormous advantage to patients worldwide."
"The early clinical observations are promising, though we need more data to arrive at definitive conclusions," Dr Lim said. "It seems from these early observations that the drug increases the rate of repigmentation and response time following narrow band UVB. During the continuation of this multi-centre study, we will analyse which type of vitiligo repigments best with combined treatment and which anatomical areas respond the most."
Nonsegmental vitiligo
Vitiligo is a disease in which there is a loss of melanin (pigment) production resulting in white or off-white depigmented skin lesions on different parts of the body. Nonsegmental vitiligo, the most common subtype of the disease, affects more than 45 million patients worldwide. This disorder may spread over time and cause patients significant psychological and emotional distress. The exact cause of vitiligo is unknown, but it is generally accepted that an autoimmune component may play a role in the disease.
Therapy for vitiligo is intended to arrest depigmentation or provide repigmentation of depigmented lesions. Treatment options exist but many clinical challenges persist in the various patient populations. Not all patients respond to available therapies and relapse is common. NB-UVB therapy has emerged as a mainstay therapy for vitiligo, but requires patients to attend clinics 2-3 times a week for up to 18 months, presenting a treatment and cost burden.
The CUV102 study is ongoing across three centres (California, Michigan and New York) in the USA and is expected to be complete in early 2012. A parallel study (CUV101) is under way in Europe across three centres (France, Italy and Switzerland). The two studies, the first in Clinuvel's INSPIRE (International SCENESSE® Pilot Repigmentation Evaluation) program, will recruit between 80 and 120 patients in total. Interim results from both studies are expected to be announced in the middle of 2012.
- End -
http://www.4-traders.com/CLINUVEL-PHARMACEUTICALS-6492603/news/CLINUVEL-PHARMACEUTICALS-LIMITED-First-positive-observations-from-Clinuvel-s-US-vitiligo-trial-13851076/
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Effective Vitiligo Treatment? You Decide
Just read this in a vitiligo forum, that someone used Protopic Ointment and it helped their vitiligo. Haven't tried it myself, but worth having a read.
Hey Everyone,
I've had vitiligo since I was about 8 years old. I inherited it from my mother. I tested out various treatments when I was child, but then my vitiligo stopped spreading for awhile so I stopped treatment. Once I started college in '08, stress caused the vitiligo to spread like crazy. By the end of my Freshman year it covered more than half of my face. My family and friends were shocked at how it spread. I ended up seeing a dermatologist that summer and started using Protopic Ointment. It is actually made for people with eczema, but there have been cases in which it works on people with vitiligo as well. IT WORKED FOR ME!! I used it twice a day for a year and now the pigment in my skin has returned, all except two small spots. (Its actually time for me to get another prescription.) But I just wanted to share my story of a treatment that worked for me. Its called Protopic Ointment. You have to get it with a prescription. The prescription cost me about $120 at Wal-Mart. The best $120 I have ever spent. It is amazing to see my face again after 13 years of there being spots all over. I definitely recommend this ointment for any and everyone suffering with vitligo.
I've had vitiligo since I was about 8 years old. I inherited it from my mother. I tested out various treatments when I was child, but then my vitiligo stopped spreading for awhile so I stopped treatment. Once I started college in '08, stress caused the vitiligo to spread like crazy. By the end of my Freshman year it covered more than half of my face. My family and friends were shocked at how it spread. I ended up seeing a dermatologist that summer and started using Protopic Ointment. It is actually made for people with eczema, but there have been cases in which it works on people with vitiligo as well. IT WORKED FOR ME!! I used it twice a day for a year and now the pigment in my skin has returned, all except two small spots. (Its actually time for me to get another prescription.) But I just wanted to share my story of a treatment that worked for me. Its called Protopic Ointment. You have to get it with a prescription. The prescription cost me about $120 at Wal-Mart. The best $120 I have ever spent. It is amazing to see my face again after 13 years of there being spots all over. I definitely recommend this ointment for any and everyone suffering with vitligo.
For the forum post link, click here:
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Monday, October 17, 2011
Skin products to cover up Vitiligo - a good option?
Though there isn't a real cure for Vitiligo yet, it seems that products that can temporarily cover it up for longer periods are improving.
I just read this article on two products, Microskin and Oxygenetix, that look really good. I've read about Microskin before, and it seemed that you had to do a trip to New York to visit the clinic where it's done. That would be really expensive. But now they are doing travelling clinics where this can be set up for you.
My vitiligo isn't so bad that I'm considering this now, but if you have vitiligo in prominent places this could be a good option. Hopefully they keep improving these products so that they look better and last longer.
Often, people with skin conditions may have symptoms that manifest in severe discoloration ranging from small areas to very large, making it difficult to hide their condition. Traditional treatment may include surgery, fractional laser resurfacing, Intense Pulsed Light Treatment, or heavy concealer-type makeup with no staying power. However, new breathable cover-up options have become available and may offer patients with severe skin conditions sufficient coverage that won't easily rub off.
To read the full article, go to:
http://www.americanhealthandbeauty.com/articles/?article=4596
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I just read this article on two products, Microskin and Oxygenetix, that look really good. I've read about Microskin before, and it seemed that you had to do a trip to New York to visit the clinic where it's done. That would be really expensive. But now they are doing travelling clinics where this can be set up for you.
My vitiligo isn't so bad that I'm considering this now, but if you have vitiligo in prominent places this could be a good option. Hopefully they keep improving these products so that they look better and last longer.
Often, people with skin conditions may have symptoms that manifest in severe discoloration ranging from small areas to very large, making it difficult to hide their condition. Traditional treatment may include surgery, fractional laser resurfacing, Intense Pulsed Light Treatment, or heavy concealer-type makeup with no staying power. However, new breathable cover-up options have become available and may offer patients with severe skin conditions sufficient coverage that won't easily rub off.
To read the full article, go to:
http://www.americanhealthandbeauty.com/articles/?article=4596
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Hair follicles, pigment cell reservoirs
Just read an interesting piece on hair follicles as pigment cell reservoirs. It seems that pigment cells near hair follicles can be a source of repigmentation. In some places of skin with vitiligo, the hair turns white. But I checked on my hands, and the hair where I have vitiligo is still dark. I thought this was interesting to post, and there is a link at the bottom with the article.
The presence of pigmented hairs in regions of vitiligo depigmentation is a good sign for vitiligo recovery, showing clues to the existence of a pigment cell reservoir. In some patients, the autoimmune attack on pigment cells may be so severe that melanocytes also disappear from all three locations above. If pigment cells are not found in any of these locations, melanocyte transplant may be the best therapeutic approach.
http://www.vitiligozone.com/research-studies/hair-follicle-pigment-cell-reservoir
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The presence of pigmented hairs in regions of vitiligo depigmentation is a good sign for vitiligo recovery, showing clues to the existence of a pigment cell reservoir. In some patients, the autoimmune attack on pigment cells may be so severe that melanocytes also disappear from all three locations above. If pigment cells are not found in any of these locations, melanocyte transplant may be the best therapeutic approach.
http://www.vitiligozone.com/research-studies/hair-follicle-pigment-cell-reservoir
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Saturday, October 8, 2011
Autoimmune diseases like Vitiligo a growing problem
Vitiligo Treatment
Interesting article I found on autoimmune diseases, of which Vitiligo is one. This came from a conference on these types of diseases, which seem to be on the rise.
Rose said they needed to develop effective treatments, that would treat the cause of the disease and not the symptoms because the symptoms were at the end of the train of events. “We need to get on the train at the very beginning,” he added. He pointed out that the top ten autoimmune diseases in the US included Graves disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto thyroiditis, vitiligo and pernicious anaemia. “In the US, 14.7 to 23.5 million people have autoimmune disease and its prevalence is the same as heart diseass (22 million) and twice as cancer (nine million).”
Click below to read more:
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2011/10/04/autoimmune-diseases-growing-problem-says-expert
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Interesting article I found on autoimmune diseases, of which Vitiligo is one. This came from a conference on these types of diseases, which seem to be on the rise.
Rose said they needed to develop effective treatments, that would treat the cause of the disease and not the symptoms because the symptoms were at the end of the train of events. “We need to get on the train at the very beginning,” he added. He pointed out that the top ten autoimmune diseases in the US included Graves disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto thyroiditis, vitiligo and pernicious anaemia. “In the US, 14.7 to 23.5 million people have autoimmune disease and its prevalence is the same as heart diseass (22 million) and twice as cancer (nine million).”
Click below to read more:
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2011/10/04/autoimmune-diseases-growing-problem-says-expert
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Sunday, October 2, 2011
Latest Vitiligo news from the web
| Latest Vitiligo news: Michael Jackson's Changing Faces Through the Years (PHOTOS) IBTimes More specifically, there is still a raging debate over the question of whether or not Michael suffered from vitiligo universalis or he bleached his skin. Apparently, Dr. Murray, while at the hospital, asked Micheal's personal assistant to dispose off a ... See all stories on this topic » *# Buy Low Price Dermfix 3000 UV-B Lamp for Psoriasis, Vitiligo or ... Best Health & Beauty UK wrote a note titled *# Buy Low Price Dermfix 3000 UV-B Lamp for Psoriasis, Vitiligo or Eczema on Sales Free UK Delivery ! Read the ... www.facebook.com/...uv...-/138157999615693 |
| Something like Vitiligo? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers "Something like Vitiligo?" - Find the answer to this question and millions more on Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers. uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid... |
| U.S. Vitiligo Cure And Everyone - Alternative Medicines - Zimbio Vitiligo treatment in the United States : Vitiligo is a skin disease with symptoms of white spots in different areas of the skin, aging hair color, eye of the retina ... www.zimbio.com/.../U+S+Vitiligo+Cure+And+Everyone |
| How can cure or fix vitiligo? - Yahoo! Answers How can cure or fix vitiligo? ... How can cure or fix vitiligo? 36 seconds ago; - 4 days left to answer. Report Abuse · Answer Question. Action Bar: 0 stars - mark ... answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid... |
| Thinkfinity: vitiligo treatment in all United States and Worldwide: U.S. ... Home > vitiligo treatment in all United States and Worldwide > vitiligo treatment in all United States and Worldwide > 2011 > September > 28 · Up to Blog Posts ... community.thinkfinity.org/.../us-vitiligo-cure-and-everyone |
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