A Preliminary Study on the Therapeutic Effects of Hydroxychloroquine on Generalized Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a recalcitrant depigmentary autoimmune skin disorder. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an effective immunomodulatory drug which is widely used in treatment of autoimmune disorders. HCQ-induced pigmenta- tion has been previously found in patients taking HCQ due to other auto- immune diseases. The present study aimed to determine whether HCQ im- proves re-pigmentation of generalized vitiligo. HCQ was orally administered 400 mg daily (6.5 mg/Kg of body weight) by 15 patients with generalized vitiligo (more than 10% involvement of body surface area) for three months. Patients were evaluated monthly and skin re-pigmentation was assessed us- ing the Vitiligo Area Scoring Index (VASI). Laboratory data were obtained and repeated monthly. Fifteen patients (12 women and 3 men) with a mean age of 30.13±12.75 years were studied. After 3 months, the extent of re-pigmen- tation on all the body regions, including the upper extremities, hands, trunk, lower extremities, feet, and head and neck was significantly higher than the baseline (P value <0.001, 0.016, 0.029, <0.001, 0.006, 0.006, respectively). Patients with concomitant autoimmune diseases had significantly more re- pigmentation compared with others (P=0.020). No irregular laboratory data were observed during the study. HCQ could be an effective treatment for generalized vitiligo. The benefits are likely to be more evident in case of con- comitant autoimmune disease. The authors recommend additional large- scale controlled studies to draw further conclusions