What is the Curative Effect of Glucocorticoids in Treating Vitiligo?

Glucocorticoid is a steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex, mainly cortisol, which regulates the biosynthesis and metabolism of sugar, fat, and protein, and also inhibits the immune response, and has anti-inflammatory, anti-toxic, and anti-shock effects.

From clinical experience, the effect of glucocorticoid drugs on vitiligo is better in the non-segmental type than in segmental vitiligo. And among non-segmental vitiligo, it has a better effect on generalized and universal types. In terms of the stage of disease, the effect of progressive vitiligo is better than that of stable vitiligo. In terms course of the disease, the effect of early disease is better, and the if disease course is more than 7 years, after drug treatment, the condition can be expected to improve, but it is difficult to cure. And in terms of size, the effect is better on exposed parts of the white patches than covered parts of it, facial white vitiligo is especially easy to treat, hands and feet and other limb ends and easy friction, pressure places such as the axilla, belt site, and perineum white patches are more difficult to treat. In children vitiligo patients are sensitive to glucocorticoids, so the efficacy is better than adults.

At present, the concept of glucocorticoids includes not only endogenous substances with the above-mentioned characteristics and activities, but also many synthetic drugs with similar structures and activities that have been structurally optimized, and currently, glucocorticoids are a class of drugs with more clinical applications.

Comprehensive domestic reported materials, glucocorticoid systemic medication for the treatment of various types of leukoplakia has an effective rate of 74%-90% and a significant rate of 27.5%-50%; the efficacy of glucocorticoid topical application has an effective rate of 56%-90% and a significant rate of between 20%-60%. It is undeniable that this difference in efficacy may be related to the selection of treatment cases, the number of cases per group, the season of treatment, and the choice of therapeutic drugs.