Treatment of Vitiligo with Autologous Cell Suspension

A retrospective study of surgical intervention in 64 patients of Vitiligo from India has been published in Journal Watch Dermatology October 27, 2004, which brings a new ray of Hope for people with Vitiligo.

The investigators transplanted a suspension of autologous melanocytes and keratinocytes into some of the lesions of 49 cases of segmental and 25 cases of focal Vitiligo. 84% of the so treated patients of segmental Vitiligo and 73% of treated cases of focal Vitiligo achieved greater than 95 % repigmentation.

It may be noted that people with segmental and focal Vitiligo, generally respond poorly to UV phototherapy.
The investigators followed these cases for 5 years and there are no reports of loss of pigment from successfully treated lesions during this period.

It is very significant that the technique and process of this surgical approach is much simpler than transplant of the cultured melanocytes. It is however complicated enough to be done outside a major hospital setup.