This is new invention for a vitiligo treatment? Just read the news below, surely a new hope for vitiligo patient.
LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Black pepper could lead to better treatments for skin disease that affects the disfigurement of about 1 percent of the world's population, British researchers on Thursday.
A team from King's College London showed in a study of mice that Piperine - the compound that gives black pepper, spicy, pungent flavor - and its synthetic derivatives helped stimulate pigmentation in the skin of people with vitiligo.
Piperine was particularly effective when combined with photo-therapy treatment with UV radiation, researchers in a study to be published in the British Journal of Dermatology.
"We have shown that topical treatment with Piperine stimulates even pigmentation in the skin," Anthony Young, a photo-biologist at King's College, who worked on the study, said in a statement.
"This provides support for future clinical evaluation of Piperine and its derivatives as novel treatments for vitiligo.
The disease, which pop star Michael Jackson in the past attributed his gradual skin whitening, destroys the melanin which gives skin its color. Melanin protects from ultraviolet rays so victims run a much higher risk of skin cancer.
Vitiligo is of particular concern in people with darker skin, the researchers said.
Current vitiligo treatments include steroids applied to patchy skin and photo-therapy. But many people do not respond to hormones and the photo-therapy may increase the risk of skin cancer, researchers said.
The team compared the effects of Piperine and its derivatives when applied to the skin of mice, either alone or followed by radiotherapy.
They found that when used only in the compounds stimulated pigmentation, light brown over a period of six weeks. When boosted by radiation, the vitiligo treatment led to even darker skin in the same period of time.
New Vitiligo Cure - with Black Pepper copyright vitiligo treatments
