Fire needle therapy improves repigmentation in non-segmental stable vitiligo: Study

The topical tacrolimus ointment monotherapy group achieved only a 6.9% mild response and a 6.9% good response. This difference highlights the potential of combining fire needle therapy with tacrolimus ointment to improve repigmentation in vitiligo patients.

Fire needle monotherapy also showed promising results, with 69% of lesions achieving at least mild repigmentation by the sixth month. This indicates that fire needle therapy alone could be a potential option for vitiligo patients who seek alternative treatments. This research reported no major adverse events associated with any of the treatments underscoring the safety of fire needle therapy. The absence of significant side effects further supports the potential of this traditional method as a non-pharmacological approach to managing vitiligo.

Further studies are required to validate the efficacy of fire needle therapy. Larger and more rigorous trials are imperative to establish this technique as a standard treatment option for vitiligo. Overall, this study provides promising preliminary evidence that fire needle therapy, whether used alone or in combination with topical tacrolimus ointment, can effectively induce repigmentation in non-segmental stable vitiligo. 

Reference:

Wang, Y., Lin, M., Huang, F., Jia, R., Xu, W., He, Q., Xiong, Q., Hu, Q., Diao, Q., & Liu, Z. (2024). Efficacy and safety of fire needle therapy in treating non‐segmental stable vitiligo: A randomized self‐controlled clinical trial. In Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocd.16428