What is the Effect of Photochemotherapy?

Photochemotherapy have certain effect for vitiligo treatment, but the evaluation of this therapy is different. It is generally believed that it should be considered from the following two aspects:

1. Efficacy evaluation aspects:

The efficacy of psoralen, such as methoxsalen is disputed, the effective rate is varying widely from 30% to 60%. (1) The efficacy is related to the following factors: exposed areas are easier to treat than concealed areas. (2) Those with a short disease period also have better efficacy. While those with a long disease period tend to have poorer efficacy or are ineffective. (3) Those with an excessively large lesion area are more difficult to treat. If there is no pigment regeneration after 3 months of continuous treatment, treatment can be discontinued and other treatments can be used instead. The tendency of recurrence is more obvious in cases that have been treated with this drug. After this treatment, the cosmetic effect is poor, and the skin color contrast increases after treatment.

2. Photochemotherapy side-effect:

The side-effect of internal use of psoralen includes loss of appetite, anemia, leukopenia, and toxic hepatitis. These side effects can be avoided if the drug is stopped or the dose is reduced in time. For the sake of caution, it should be contraindicated in patients with diabetes mellitus, hepatic impairment, and light-sensitive diseases such as porphyria and lupus erythematosus. In addition, the use of this drug may lead to eye damage and cataracts. Caring should be taken to protect the eyes from ultraviolet light damage while taking the drug, so it is mostly recommended to take the drug in the evening. For safety, it is advisable to follow up on blood and urine routine and liver function regularly once a month. It is also contraindicated in women during pregnancy and lactation, diabetics, those with poor liver and kidney function, cataracts, those who are allergic to light, skin cancer, vulvar area, and those who are allergic or intolerant to psoralen.