Vitiligo master-class in Croatia
Opening ceremony by Professors Mirna Šitum and Torello Lotti was complimented by a performance of traditional Croatian music. Prof. Andreas Katsambas (left in the photo) from Greece will later discuss relationship between skin cancer and vitiligo. Recent studies showed that patients with vitiligo have a decreased risk of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers.
Master Class president Professor Mirna Šitum is making an overview and update on pigmentary disorders, – an aetiologically complex part of general and corrective dermatology, requiring interdisciplinary approach in diagnosis and treatment. Although most pigmentary disorders are benign in nature, they present clinical, cosmetic and psychological challenges to both patient and doctor.
An excellent presentation of Vitiligo Treatment Guidelines was offered by Prof. Andrija Stanimirovic, Vice-president of the Master Class and President of Croatian Vitiligo Association. Prof. Stanimirovic reviewed five treatment algorithms suggested by American, British, European and Japanese vitiligo specialists, and shared guidelines from Croatia that were introduced by his team in 2014.
An award winner of the 1st Master Class in Spain (2011) Dr. Natasa Teovska Mitrevska from Macedonia presents her study of Quality Of Life in vitiligo patients. Measuring the QoL is important for assessment of full impact of skin disorders on person’s life, making decisions about non-clinical aspects of the disease, improving doctor-patient relationship and overall compliance thus resulting in better treatment outcomes.
Psychological aspects of vitiligo were also reviewed by Prof. Jacek C. Szepietowski from Wroclaw Medical University, who suggest that benefits of adjunctive psychological support should always be taken into consideration in holistic approach to the therapy of vitiligo patients. Practical advices on vitiligo care in everyday use by Prof. Igor Bartenjev from Ljubljana School of Medicine (Slovenia) cover all steps, from first-line treatments to depigmentation.
Prof. Torello Lotti, Chair of the VRF Board and Chair of Department of Dermatology of G.Marconi University in Rome, is leading the session on vitiligo treatments (photo). In a presentation “Vitiligo: What’s New, What’s True in 2015” professor reviewed UVB and microphotherapy, topical treatments, use of products based on prostaglandin E and antioxidants. Low-dose oral cytokines therapy for vitiligo is aimed at improving the stimulation of the residual population of melanocytes, and is a very promising new therapeutic approach to vitiligo treatment.
In differential diagnosis of vitiligo it is important, according to Dr. Neira Purina-Ivic from University of Split School Of Medicine, to distinguish early lesions with partial loss of pigment from post-inflammatory hypopigmentation and other cutaneous infections. A leader of Croatian Vitiligo Association, Dr. Maja Kovacevic presented patient case reports, including rare clinical variants of the disease with mixed form of vitiligo following Blaschko’s lines, multi-chrome and blue vitiligo. Phototherapy and excimer laser treatment options for vitiligo were summarized by Dr. Kresimir Kostovic from University Hospital Center in Zagreb. Mutual factors affecting vitiligo and hyper pigmentation disorders were reviewed by Dr. Ivana Binic from Nis, Serbia, for a better understanding of their etiopathogenesis and all complex interactions between regulators of the melanogenesis process.
Patients joined the Master Class for vitiligo camouflage product demonstration by Dr. Joelle Nonni from France. The three-step technique of the medical corrective make-up helps patients restore confidence in their skin appearance.
Dr. Igor Korobko, VRF Chief Scientific Director, and Dr. Verdana Bulat (University Hospital Center “Sestre miloserdnice” from Zagreb, Croatia) discussing a future research project. Despite obvious clinical differences, vitiligo and other non/cutaneous diseases share many important similarities that may help us to better understand their immunopathogenesis and develop new treatments.
A novel topical cream for selective phototherapy using sunlight was introduced by it’s developer, Prof. Andy Goren (Applied Biology, USA). The cream’s unique formula filters out non-therapeutic wavelength of UVB from sunlight and delivers treatment for acrofacial vitiligo. It can provide a convenient alternative to clinic-based phototherapy, especially for those traveling or living in sun-abundant places like south of Europe, India and other regions.
A dedicated bio-IT system ‘Vitiligo Cloud Bank’ was developed by the VR Foundation for use by patients, doctors and researchers. Foundation’s CEO Yan Valle demonstrated features and invited those interested to sign up for free use of this handy tool.
VRF CEO Yan Valle and Nicolle Maquignon from Association Française du Vitiligo discussing collaboration between their non-profit organizations and potential creation of Federation of Vitiligo Societies.
VRFoundation 