Various approaches to the treatment of Vitiligo disease vary from one side of the globe to the other. While all clinics, physicians and medical practitioners observe and acknowledge the different behaviour in the density and locality of the white patches, western medics focus on a decrease in melanin production by the melanocyte cells, while eastern or Chinese medical practitioners favour the examination of blood and body temperature and the effects of heat changes on hair follicles. At the start, vitiligo disease manifests as white spots gradually extending to form white patches without boundaries. Chinese medicine describes the blockage of hair orifices and the hair too becoming white. While the vitiligo disease is not a mortal threat it is seen as one of the most social and psychologically demoralising skin disorders across the world.
In China, the pathogenic causes of vitiligo are seen to be due to heat in the blood and invasion of wind and damp through the skin surface resulting in the malfunctioning of the Qi (vital energy) and stagnation of the Qi energy. Vitiligo invades the face, neck, limbs, stomach and bank and often progresses quickly during spring and summer months. Vitiligo disease has, according to the Chinese, an incubation period which can be greatly controlled but by no means suggests a complete recovery. Without continual care the disease resurfaces and with lack of attention progresses to a bigger area that is extremely difficult to treat. Chinese doctors argue that ultraviolet treatment, isolation of pigment and subcutaneous injections are not a solution. These efforts merely alleviate the symptoms of vitiligo disease and do not produce any permanent stability in skin color. The Chinese recommend herbal preparations which are non-toxic, have no side-effects, can be taken over a short period of time and produce faster and permanent results. Changes in diet and eliminating some shell fishes and spices may also be recommended as effective treatment. One Chinese Institute boasts 98% rarely show recurrence of the vitiligo disease with a cure rate of over 80%.
Western diagnostics do not take account of extraneous events in the environment, wind and wet weather or diet. The vitiligo disease is seen as a failure of the melanocyte cells to produce enough melanin. Western physicians favour stimulating the melanocyte production in different ways. Trials have been conducted into the efficiency of different topical corticosteroid ointments like tacrolimus and clobetasol which varying results which suggest a near 50% return of colour to the vitiligo disease patches. There is still further evidence of the effectiveness of combining application of psoralen and UVA (PUVA) photo chemotherapy. Grafting skin from healthy colored areas of a patient’s body to patches of vitiligo disease is also producing evidence of combating the disorder. This is a lengthy procedure and requires multiple sessions for treating the most persistent or extensive white patches. Other attempts currently being advertised include the Melanocyte Keratinocyte Transfer (MKT) technique. This is an autologous procedure where a skin graft is taken from the patient’s healthy skin in sterile conditions and then placed in a suspension. The melanocyte cells grow within the cell culture solution. The white patch to be treated is abraded under local anaesthetic and the new skin mixture applied. The fact that the cells are derived from the patient’s own healthy cells minimizes possibilities of rejection and the procedure is said to produce no scarring.
While treatments suggested by both Chinese and Western medicine are lengthy it is probably the persistent nature of the vitiligo disease that is perhaps its most demoralizing characteristic. Emotional stress follows soon as the disease develops in visible areas of the body, face, arms and feet. All physicians agree that the sufferer must remain patient to make long term progress with this ailment.
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