WEDNESDAY, Sept. 20, 2023 -- For generalized-type vitiligo, narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) treatment combined with tacrolimus 0.1 percent or calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate is efficacious, with no significant difference in efficacy at three and six months of follow-up, according to a study published online Aug. 30 in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment.

Diala Alshiyab, M.D., from the Jordan University of Science and Technology in Irbid, and colleagues recruited 41 adults with generalized-type vitiligo receiving NB-UVB to compare the efficacy of topical tacrolimus 0.1 percent to that of calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate. The patients were classified into two groups: 20 patients receiving calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate cream (D group) and 21 patients receiving tacrolimus 0.1 percent ointment (T group). Follow-up was conducted at three and six months.

The researchers found an increase in the repigmentation area in the D and T groups from the third to the sixth month (35.4 to 54.7 percent and 32.2 to 45.6 percent, respectively). The between-group differences were not statistically significant. Different levels of improvement were seen in body sites, ranging from the highest in the face and lowest in the hands and feet. There was a negative correlation observed between the duration since diagnosis and response to D treatment.

"The combinations of NB-UVB with tacrolimus 0.1 percent ointment or with calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate are efficacious in treating general vitiligo in adults," the authors write.