Effect of combination of calcipotriol plus betamethasone diproprionate ointment in treatment of vitiligo compare to placebo

Abstract

Background: Calciprotriol is a vitamin D derivative. There are many reports about vitamin D and vitamin D derivatives involve in melanogenesis process. However, the efficacies of vitamin D derivatives in the treatment of vitiligo are still controversy.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Calcipotriol+betamethasone diproprionate ointment and placebo in the treatment of vitiligo.

Methods: Twelve subjects with vitiligo in the both sides of the body from the dermatology clinic at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital were enrolled in this study. One side of the body with vitiligo was treated with Calcipotriol+betamethasone diproprionate ointment, while another side was treated with placebo. The subjects were received the treatment for 6 months. The efficacies of the treatments were evaluated by digital photograph. Percentages of the repigmentation were assessed by 2 dermatologists.

Results: Five patients from 12 patients withdrawed from this study. Of the remain 7 patients, there was statistically difference in the improvement of repigmentation after treatment with Calcipotriol+betamethasone diproprionate (P-value = 0.032). There was no difference of repigmentation after treatment with placebo (P-value = 1.000). There was statistically difference in the improvement of repigmentation between Calcipotriol+betamethasone diproprionate and placebo (P-value = 0.006). The side effect  was minimal, which only 2 patients developed telangiectasia.

Conclusion: Calcipotriol+betamethasone diproprionate is safe and might have benefit in treatment of vitiligo. Nevertheless, the efficacy of this drug was still inconclusive due to the small sample size.