Efficacy and safety of fire needle therapy in treating non-segmental stable vitiligo: A randomized self-controlled clinical trial.
J Cosmet Dermatol
; 23(10): 3335-3346, 2024 Oct.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38894565
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Vitiligo remains a challenging condition to treat. Fire needle therapy, a traditional Chinese medicine technique, has potential as an alternative therapeutic strategy. However, rigorous evidence on its efficacy is lacking.OBJECTIVE:
We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of fire needle therapy, alone and combined with topical tacrolimus ointment, for non-segmental stable vitiligo.METHODS:
In this 6-month randomized self-controlled trial, 35 vitiligo patients were enrolled, providing three similar lesions each. Lesions were randomly allocated to receive fire needle monotherapy, 0.1% tacrolimus ointment monotherapy, or combined fire needle and tacrolimus ointment therapy. The main outcome was change in vitiligo surface area.RESULTS:
In total, 29 patients completed the 6-month follow-up. The combination therapy group showed significantly greater reductions in vitiligo surface area compared to monotherapy groups starting at months 4 and 5. By the end of the study, combination therapy resulted in remarkably higher repigmentation responses, with 89.7% of lesions showing at least mild (≥25%) repigmentation and 51.7% showing good (≥50%) repigmentation. This significantly exceeded the outcomes with topical tacrolimus ointment alone, which only achieved 6.9% mild response and 6.9% good response. Fire needle monotherapy also demonstrated steady repigmentation over time, with 69% of lesions attaining a mild response by month 6. Importantly, no major adverse events occurred.CONCLUSION:
This study provides promising preliminary evidence supporting the use of fire needle therapy, alone or in combination with topical tacrolimus ointment, for inducing repigmentation in non-segmental stable vitiligo. As a non-pharmacological approach, fire needle therapy warrants further study as an alternative vitiligo treatment.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Pomadas
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Vitíligo
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Pigmentación de la Piel
/
Tacrolimus
Límite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Cosmet Dermatol
Asunto de la revista:
DERMATOLOGIA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
China