Comparison of Efficacy and Safety of 0.1% Tacrolimus and 0.1% Mometasone Furoate for Adult Vitiligo
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
2013-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Vitiligo has remained a difficult disease to treat. Previous available therapies are often
ineffective. It usually takes several months or years for complete repigmentation and some
areas of the body get at best only partial repigmentation. The desire of the patient to
undergo therapy varies from patient to patient and needs to be assessed individually. Several
factors should be considered when planning the treatment strategies including type of
vitiligo, site and degree of involvement, skin color, psychological effect, patient
compliance, ease to assess to therapy, cost of treatment and social association of the
disease.
Topical corticosteroids are still be the standard treatment of localized vitiligo. However,
the adverse effects such as skin atrophy, striae, pigmentary change and
hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis suppression can occur if we use inappropriate strength of
topical steroids for a long period of time.
Tacrolimus (FK-506) is a new immunosuppressive agent that acts by inhibiting T-cell
activation and cytokine release. It offers a safe and efficacious alternative for many skin
conditions. It minimizes the need for topical glucocorticoids and does not cause skin
atrophy. Tacrolimus was first reported for treatment of vitiligo in 2002. The underlying
mechanism was shown in an in vitro study that topical tacrolimus promoted proliferation of
melanocytes and melanoblasts.
This study purpose is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 0.1% topical tacrolimus ointment
comparing to 0.1% mometasone furoate cream in the treatment of adult vitiligo.