308-nm excimer lamp with 0.03% tacrolimus ointment is safe and effective to treat children with non-segmental vitiligo.

Introduction: A 308-nm excimer lamp combined with topical medicines has been used to treat vitiligo. However, few studies have evaluated its efficacy and influencing factors in children. Aim: We investigated the clinical effects and factors influencing the effectiveness of a 308-nm excimer lamp combined with 0.03% tacrolimus ointment in treating children with non-segmental vitiligo. Material and methods: A retrospective interventional case-series study was performed on 73 patients with non-segmental vitiligo treated with combination therapy. The duration of treatment ranged from 1 to 24 months, and the total number of treatments ranged from 4 to 78 sessions. We evaluated different treatment factors, including the number of treatments with a 308-nm excimer lamp, location, dose, disease course, and adverse reactions. Results: Overall, 105 leukodermas were treated: 36.2% had disappeared completely. The efficiency rate was 81.9% after a median treatment duration of 10.5 months. The treatment was most effective for the face and neck. Patients with a short disease duration showed a better response (disease duration shorter than 12 months). Reported adverse reactions were mild. Conclusions: Treatment using a 308-nm excimer lamp and 0.03% tacrolimus ointment is a safe and valuable treatment for children with non-segmental vitiligo.

Successful treatment of ulcerated hemangiomas with a dual-wavelength 595- and 1064-nm laser system.

BACKGROUND: Pulsed dye laser (PDL) treatment has been shown to be effective for the management of ulcerated areas of hemangiomas. However, targeting deeper dermal lesions requires a laser system that penetrates more deeply than a PDL. Thus, we applied a dual-wavelength 595- and 1064-nm laser system to the treatment of ulcerated hemangiomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-two infants with ulcerated hemangiomas (mean are, 3.8 cm2) were reviewed. Ulcers were treated by debridement and the surface received 595-nm PDL treatment at 4-5 J/cm2 with a pulse width of 0.5 ms. Then, the remaining hemangioma excluding the ulcerated portion was treated with dual-wavelength laser. Laser treatment was repeated at two-week intervals until cutaneous healing was observed. RESULTS: Ulcerative lesions in 20 of the 22 patients (90.9%) healed entirely within 2 weeks following the first laser treatment. Two patients also required oral steroids, and one patient underwent two laser treatments. The follow-up period ranged from 6 to 24 months, and no evidence of recurrent ulceration or hemangioma regrowth was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm that PDL treatment leads to a rapid decrease in pain and initiation of the healing process and indicate that dual-wavelength laser treatment offers rapid healing with few adverse effects.

[Detection of serum autoantibodies to melanocyte and correlation between melanoma antigen recognized by T-cells and vitiligo in children].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the serum levels of melanocyte antibodies and explore the relation between melanoma antigen recognized by T-cells (MART-1) and vitiligo in children. METHODS: The serum samples were collected from children with vitiligo to test the autoantibodies, and divided into low- and high-titer group according to the test results. Melanocytes were incubated with the serum samples, and the changes of melanocyte surface antigen were evaluated using specific MART-1 antibody. RESULTS: The serum melanocyte antibody levels in children with vitiligo were significantly higher than those in normal subjects. The expression level of melanocyte surface antigen MART-1 increased obviously after incubation of the melanocyte with high antibody titer serum samples, and MART-1 was found to specifically bind to specific MART-1 antibody. CONCLUSION: Melanocytes MART-1 may correlate to the autoimmune mechanism in children with vitiligo.