308-nm LED safe and effective treatment for vitiligo of face: Study

A light-emitting diode (LED), with a wavelength of 308 nm, has been utilized in the dermatologic treatment of vitiligo.

Researchers investigated the efficacy and safety of 308-nm LED for use in the treatment of vitiligo.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study of 70 stable-stage vitiligo patients (with a total of 99 lesions) who received 308-nm LED treatment at the Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College from June 2018 to June 2020. Treatment efficacy was evaluated after 8 treatment sessions, 16 treatment sessions, and the final treatment session, to estimate the percentage of re-pigmentation in the treated area. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for data analysis.

Results:

Based on the final treatment session analysis of all 99 lesions, 0 lesions showed no response, 21 lesions showed poor response, 29 lesions showed moderate response, 23 lesions showed good response, and 26 lesions showed excellent response. The efficacy rate was 49.49%, and there was a significant correlation between the six distinct anatomical regions treated and re-pigmentation grade (χ2 = 13.419, p = .009). Among these regions, facial lesions showed the best response to treatment, while the hands and feet lesions showed the poorest response.

Thus, the clinical efficacy of 308-nm LED treatment is limited based on the treatment area. It demonstrated significant practical application in the treatment of vitiligo.

Reference:

Treatment of vitiligo with 308-nm light emitting diode: Our experience from a two-year follow-up of Chinese patients by Chao Luan et al. published in the Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35075714/

Keywords:

Chao Luan, Yu H, Mei Ju, Dan Huang, Rong-Lin Zhan, Xiao-Hua Zhang, Pan-Pan Tian, Yan Zhu, Chen Zhuang, Jia-An Zhang, Kun Chen, Treatment of vitiligo, vitiligo and 308-nm light emitting diode, use of light emitting diode, light emitting diode and vitiligo, Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine, 308-nm; light emitting diode; phototherapy; re-pigmentation; vitiligo.