IS LEUKODERMA CUREABLE

[alive]

IS THERE ANY ARTIFICIAL SKIN PIGMENTATION IS AVAILABLE TO TREAT LEUKODERMA

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Leukoderma is a general term meaning, "white skin."  If you are referring to complete loss of pigment (vitiligo), treamtnts are only modestly effective.  They include ultraviolet therapy, and surgical procedures like pigment skin grafts.  You should consult an expert to see which treatments if any is right for you.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[Astra]

I have small white "freckles" over neck, upper chest and now on the tops of my arms. It has spread slowly over 17 years.
Fifteen dermatologists here in the U.K say there is nothing I can do. They call it Leukoderma...but say it is not Vitiligo.
Does anyone know of any treatment (apart from PUVA which did not work) for this?
One Dr. said laser might work but they would come back. Is this correct and would they come back quickly or slowly?

Has anyone else out there go the same condition and what have you tried?

Please help!!

[kamasutra]

In India, vitiligo, or "leukoderma" as it is called there, is regarded as "white leprosy." The late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru ranked vitiligo as one of three major medical problems in India, alongside malaria and leprosy. A woman in India cannot marry if she has even one spot of vitiligo, and if a woman develops vitiligo after marriage it is considered grounds for divorce.


       The recent media publicity about Michael Jackson's battle with vitiligo has helped raise public awareness of the disease. While vitiligo is worldwide and affects all races equally, it is a particularly troubling social problem for persons whose normal skin color is brown or black.

       The goal of depigmentation is to unify skin color in patients with vitiligo virtually all over the body. Bleaching with monobenzylether of hydroquinone 20% cream (Benoquin) is a permanent, irreversible process. Since application of Benoquin may be associated with distant depigmentation, Benoquin cannot be used selectively to bleach certain areas of normal pigmentation, because there is a real likelihood that new and distant white macules will develop over the months of use. Uncommonly, contact dermatitis is observed. The success rate is about 93%.
Periodically following sun exposure, an occasional patient will observe focal repigmentation, which will require a month or so of local use of Benoquin to reverse. The end-stage color of skin bleached with Benoquin is the same chalk-white as the vitiligo macules. Most patients are quite satisfied with uniformity and the finality of the results. An occasional patient may wish to take 30 to 60 mg beta-carotene to impart on off-white color to the skin (carrot color). The only side effect of beta-carotene is the uncommon risk of diarrhea.

       People who undergo bleaching are at risk for sunburn. They should avoid midday sun exposure and should use a high-SPF sunscreen.

       To date no long-term untoward effects have been reported from the use of monobenzylether of hydroquinone for skin bleaching.


       Three myths about the treatment of vitiligo prevail in the medical profession:
       The first myth is that treatment of vitiligo is "impossible." This is clearly not true and the majority of patients can achieve good results.
       The second myth is that oral psoralens, which form the basis for some vitiligo treatments are "toxic to the liver." Oral psoralens are not toxic to the liver.
       The third myth is that psoralen + UVA (PUVA) treatments for vitiligo "cause cancer of the skin." When used to treat vitiligo, PUVA therapy requires only a limited number of treatments-approximately 150 in number that has not been shown to cause skin cancer. By comparison, PUVA treatments for psoriasis can be as many as double the number for vitiligo. It has been shown that a small percentage of patients who receive more than 250 PUVA treatments can develop treatable squamous cell cancers of the skin.


http://www.aad.org/pamphlets/Vitiligo.html
             http://www.vitiligosearch.org/Vitiligo_Defined/treatment.cfm

"Hydroquinone" is a temporary and reversible treatment.
"Monobenzylether of Hydroquinone" is permanent and irreversible.

[Tamarah]

I'm a 21 year old student from Aruba.
I've had white spots on my body for a long time now.
I really want help to get them to go away.
I'm now getting a white spot on my face, I don't want that.
But I know that there is nothing that I can do right now.
If anyone knows what I can do, to make them go away, please let me know.

[Tamarah]

I'm a 21 year old student from Aruba.
I've had white spots on my body for a long time now.
I really want help to get them to go away.
I'm now getting a white spot on my face, I don't want that.
But I know that there is nothing that I can do right now.
If anyone knows what I can do, to make them go away, please let me know.

[sammyy]

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[Saeed008]

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