VitiligoWeb.com
I just learned of some new research going on in relation to an engineered protein that looks to stop the spread of vitiligo, and even help with repigmentation. The protein has been tried on mice with vitiligo, with positive results. The next step would be to test it on humans in clinical trials.
There are other studies going on to help with vitiligo, but it's nice to see something new like this come up. The more avenues that are looked at, the more chances there will one day be a treatment or cure.
Here are some parts of the article:
The disfiguring skin disorder vitiligo could be reversed using a genetically modified protein engineered by researchers at Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine.
According to Chicago dermatologist Jeffrey Karaban, the findings would be “life-altering” if a consistently effective treatment using the protein can be produced.
If the university’s pending application for a patent is cleared, the researchers hope to gain approval for funding clinical trials in humans. The research has so far been limited to mice but preliminary tests on human skin tissue samples have also yielded promising results, according to Loyola researcher Caroline Le Poole.
“We’d need to figure out what it does to other immune responses or if there are some undesirable effects,” she said. “It takes a lot of time and money. If everything falls into place, we could do that in two years."
Of course, the need to treat vitiligo, otherwise a harmless condition, depends on the individual. Some people may be perfectly fine with it.
“Everyone has a different level of acceptance with their bodies,” Karaban said. “It’s a part of their life.”
To read the full article, go to:
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=217259
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