title: Oral phenylalanine loading and sunlight as source of UVA irradiation in vitiligo on the Caribbean island of Curacao NA.
abstract: Recently, favourable results have been reported from oral L-phenylalanine (Phe) combined with UVA/sunlight irradiation (Phe-UVA) in the treatment of vitiligo. In the present pilot study vitiligo patients were treated on a thrice weekly scheme of 50 mg Phe.kg-1 body weight and exposed to sunlight as a source of UVA. An observed 81% response on the skin disorder correlates with earlier figures; 43% responded within 3 months. The self-controlled treatment includes the risk of over-irradiation, as possibly happened with one patient. The repigmentation was predominantly of follicular pattern. The assumption that Phe plays a central biochemical regulatory role in melanin, catecholamine and antibody synthesis forms an attractive challenge for the explanation of repigmentation and requires further investigation.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009427:Netherlands Antilles; D010649:Phenylalanine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D013472:Sunlight; D014467:Ultraviolet Therapy; D014820:Vitiligo / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D010649:Phenylalanine