What is repigmentation therapy for vitiligo?
To get repigmentation, new pigment cells must be produced from existing ones. That means that new pigment cells must come from the base of hair follicles, from the edge of the lesion or from the patch of Vitiligo itself if depigmentation is not complete. The maximum amount of repigmentation that can be expected in any one spot in a year of treatment is an eighth to a quarter of an inch. If in a given area most of the hair follicles would provide pigment cells that radiate to one eighth to a quarter of an inch, there could be marked repigmentation. However, if the hairs are white or if there are no hairs, repigmentation must occur from the edge. In repigmentation therapy, a patient is given a psoralen drug and then is exposed to ultraviolet light A (UV-A). When psoralen drugs are activated by UV-A, they stimulate repigmenation by increasing the availability of color-producing cells at the skin’s surface. The response varies among patients and body sites. The psoralen drugs used for repi
