Arthritis Drug Might Help Vitiligo Patients.

Soon a new treatment for Vitiligo might be administered to worldwide patients. Yale researchers have investigated the potential use of a class of medications usually meant for rheumatoid arthritis .

The drug will be based on  Tofacitinib a drug of the Janus Kinase inhibitor class. This drug is currently being used for treating rheumatoid arthritis and could also help in the treatment of psoriasis and other immunological medical conditions.

Scientists do not know exactly what causes Vitiligo disease, other than chemical exposure cases.

Some suggest it might be either autoimmune or genetic defects. In this case it would make some sense for the arthritis drug to work.

Vitiligo is a disease that affects skin condition and pigmentation. The skin pigment cells either die or do not function properly.

Dr Brittany Craiglow and Dr Brett King both assistant professors of dermatology at Yale University have heard rumors about the use of certain arthritis medications in solving alopecia areata generated hair loss.

They decided to test the drug’s effectiveness on trating skin pigmentation loss caused by Vitiligo.

The researchers administered doses of Tofacitinib to a patient suffering from Vitiligo on portions of her face and body.

It was reported that before the drug trial began the patient’s disease was spreading across the body forming several white spots.

After 2 months of administering the drug the patient enjoyed a normalization of the skin color pigments that were affected by the disease.

The team said that the patient had almost totally recovered after a five month administration period of the drug.

With no negative side effects experienced during the testing period, researchers stated that the patients affected areas including her face and hands had recovered their normal color almost entirely.

Just a few spots with reduced size were present on the patient at the end of the trial.

More testing will be needed before doctors can safely recommend the treatment to Vitiligo patients.

The base compound of the arthritis drug is approved by the FDA for human use already.

Image Source: vitiligocauses.co