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

Vitiligo is characterized by the loss of pigment and remains highly difficult to treat. However, a recent study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology suggests positive effect for vitiligo through the use of fire needle therapy which is a traditional Chinese medicine technique. 

This extensive six-month study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of fire needle therapy for non-segmental stable vitiligo. This study employed a randomized self-controlled trial method and involved a total of 35 patients who each provided three similar vitiligo lesions. These lesions were then randomly assigned to three treatment groups which were, fire needle monotherapy, 0.1% tacrolimus ointment monotherapy and a combination of fire needle and tacrolimus ointment therapy. The primary measure of success was the change in the surface area of the vitiligo lesions. By the end of the six-month period, 29 patients had completed the follow-up by providing valuable data on the treatment outcomes.

The results were promising for the combination therapy group. This group underwent significantly greater reductions in vitiligo surface area when compared to the monotherapy groups, with marked improvements starting from the fourth month. Towards the end of the study, an impressive 89.7% of lesions treated with the combination therapy showed at least mild (≥25%) repigmentation, and 51.7% demonstrated good (≥50%) repigmentation.

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