Images and results




 

Immagini iconografiche


Only vitiligo patches that are visible under natural light may be detected during the dermatological examination; the clinical examination under halogen light may provide a rough idea of patch location and achromia. However, an accurate enough picture of this skin disease is only provided by fluorescent light examination, which highlights the so-called concealed patches and allows an accurate assessment of achromia (Fig. 1). By means of fluorescent light shots (frequency: 360 nm), vitiligo patches that are invisible to the naked eye are identified and, almost as in an "X-ray skin examination", the difference in colour between the normally pigmented skin (dark blue) and the achromic skin (bluish) is clearly highlighted. This diagnostic method allows prompt action by means of the RatokŪderm focused microirradiation. This pubblication contains several pictues of patients examined under fluoresent light at the beginning and during the RatokŪtherapy.
Considerable results were achieved relatively quickly in patient L.F. (Image 12/13 images): indeed, vitiligo patches located on the hands are known to be particularly pesistent and to resist any kind of treatment.