Vitiligo
Effective treatment of Vitiligo MEL@308 with excimer light, fast, effective, painless.
Vitiligo is the name of a disease that manifests itself in the loss of pigment. The cause of vitiligo is still not clear. autoimmune disease, genetics or stress are most often considered to be the trigger. Currently, the most effective treatment for vitiligo is targeted phototherapy with narrow-spectrum UVB light 311 or 308 nm, or PUVA (Psoralen + UVA) therapy. Clinical studies show that phototherapy treatment should be started as soon as possible after the first symptoms appear. The treatment itself lasts at least 3 months (repigmentation can be observed after this time). After 3 months of therapy, it is advisable to evaluate the effect and consider continuing or interrupting the treatment.
Since relatively few colleagues deal specifically with the disease in children, we at happyderm decided to invest in a unique phototherapy device DEKA Excilite µ which treats vitiligo using narrow-spectrum UVB radiation with a wavelength of 308nm MEL@308. It is an innovative method of treating vitiligo with good patient response. The achieved results are better if the therapy is started as soon as possible after the appearance of vitiligo symptoms.
Use of excimer light MEL@308 for the treatment of vitiligo has the advantage over PUVA therapy in that there is no need to apply psoralen to the skin. Compared to cabins with UVB 311nm, MEL@308 has the upper hand in terms of targeting and intensity, and thus the speed of application and in minimizing the cumulative dose of radiation – which is especially important for children. In addition, MEL@308 phototherapy is painless and very fast, thanks to the powerful excimer light it is possible to treat an area of 30 cm2 (5x6 cm) within a few seconds. If the loss of pigment is on smaller areas, on the face, around the eyes, it is of course possible to target exactly the affected areas. Nowadays, it is also possible to buy UVB lamps for home use, but their performance, and thus the effect, is only a fraction of what DEKA Excilite micro can do, which shines with an intensity of 50mW/cm2, which is about 10 times more than lamps for home use.
Since we started using MEL@308 phototherapy at the happyderma clinic, we have already treated several child patients. The experience with the treatment is good, the white flakes have repigmented in most cases. At the same time, it turns out that some affected areas react better (face, trunk), others worse (hands, ankles). It has also been shown that in some cases repigmentation (healing) occurs after several months of therapy. MEL@308 phototherapy is really fast, the patient spends a maximum of 5-10 minutes in the clinic. We usually book patients for phototherapy after office hours at the exact time.
In 2024, I added treatment with an innovative cream to the MEL@308 phototherapy Opzelura as a separate but also combined therapy (together with phototherapy). According to the results so far, I conclude that combined therapy – Opzelura + MEL@308 appears to be a very good treatment, especially for the facial area. The only problem is that despite being approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and ŠÚKL, the drug Opzelura is neither categorized nor available in Slovakia. On my prescription, however, it can be purchased in neighboring Austria at a price of around EUR 1,000 per 100g of cream, which is enough, depending on the size of the bearings, for 3 – 6 months of treatment. I also tried to ask the dominant health insurance company for special approval of treatment with Opzelura, but with a negative result.
I presented my experience at Pediatric Dermatology Conference in Prague in October 2024.
Result before and after 4 months of treatment (2024)
In addition to the treatment of vitiligo, MEL@308 can also be used in the treatment of psoriasis and alopecia. We offer MEL@308 phototherapy as the first choice for the treatment of vitiligo to both children and adult patients. Phototherapy is not covered by public health insurance.
You can read more about suitable therapy for the treatment of vitiligo in of the article of the primary care of the children's skin clinic NÚDCH MUDr. Zuzana Velické, CSc.
A sample of before and after results on the website of the manufacturer DEKA Laser
A few studies on the effectiveness of MEL@308 for the treatment of Vitiligo
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19563242
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6484574/