title: A pilot study of 1% pimecrolimus cream for the treatment of childhood segmental vitiligo.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is as yet no effective and safe treatment for vitiligo. One percent pimecrolimus cream, a topical calcineurin inhibitor, has been tried for the treatment of vitiligo, with its therapeutic efficacy having mostly been reported in non-segmental vitiligo. However, questions about the therapeutic efficacy of 1% pimecrolimus cream have remained unanswered regarding segmental vitiligo.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to study the therapeutic efficacy and safety of 1% pimecrolimus cream for segmental childhood vitiligo.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine childhood patients with segmental vitiligo were treated with 1% pimecrolimus cream twice daily for three months, after which good responders were scheduled to continue with the 1% pimecrolimus cream monotherapy. The efficacy and safety of this treatment were determined by the levels of repigmentation, initial response time and the presence of adverse events including burning, dryness, stinging and itching.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four of nine patients achieved mild to moderate responses after three months of treatment and thus continued with treatment. Among these four patients, three achieved an excellent response and one patient achieved a moderate response, with a mean treatment duration of 7.3 months. Transient local burning sensation was the most common adverse event. In comparison with the patients with poor response, those patients with good response showed a shorter disease duration (8.5±10.5 mo vs. 13.4±10.1 mo), more frequent facial involvement (4/4 patients vs. 3/5 patients) and earlier initial response after treatment (1.0±0.0 mo vs. 2.0±1.0 mo).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that 1% pimecrolimus cream is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for segmental childhood vitiligo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Woo-Haing
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Sung-Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Seung-Wook
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Jwa
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Hoon-Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyun-Chang
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Byung-Soo
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Moon-Bum
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Pimecrolimus; Vitiligo