the present invention is a method of using uvb laser light to treat vitiligo . laser light is different than regular light in that it is coherent and collimated , which can be thought of as more “ concentrated .” a given dose of laser light is often much more effective in producing photochemical reactions than conventional light . treatment of vitiligo with uvb laser light is superior because laser light 1 ) penetrates deeper in the skin than conventional light , and 2 ) a given dose of light is delivered much more quickly with laser light . this second effect becomes important if stimulation of melanocytes has a time component , i . e . stimulation is more effective if done quickly . also claimed and disclosed is a method of using uvb laser light to treat vitiligo where the time of exposure to the vitiligo afflicted skin areas is gradually increased . a diagnosis of vitiligo is made clinically , and the absence of melanin is confirmed by woods light examination . a wood &# 39 ; s light examination uses uv light , also known as “ black light ,” to accentuate areas of white color . in the practicing invention , a patient afflicted with vitiligo is treated by exposing the afflicted area to the uvb laser beam at periodic intervals . for example , the exposure to the vitiligo afflicted skin areas can be administered between 1 to 5 times per week . the first treatment would last for up to 5 seconds , depending on the intensity setting of the laser beam . the greater the intensity , the shorter the exposure to the beam . the exposure time for each treatment would be gradually increased , to a maximum of 10 seconds . in one embodiment of the invention , an excimer laser is used to generate the uvb laser light . an excimer laser is a laser which uses a rare - gas halide or rare - gas metal vapor and emits laser light in the ultraviolet ( 126 to 558 nm ) range . currently , only excimer lasers emit laser light in the uv range , although any future lasers that emit light in the uvb range would also be encompassed by this invention . the laser used should operate in a range between 290 and 320 nm in wavelength , the uvb range of light . the laser should be utilized at a setting of not more than 120 mwatts . a 308 excimer laser from the surgilight corporation , winter park fla ., is preferred for use in practicing the present invention . this laser operates at 308 nm via a fiber optic cable with pulse duration of 120 nsec , fired at repetition rate of 20 hz . the laser spot size is 10 × 10 mm . a photometer measures laser output , and the laser is utilized at a setting of 60 mwatts . in one preferred method of treatment , a patient with vitiligo is exposed to the 308 nm excimer laser three times a week . the first treatment lasts 2 seconds . the patient returns , and if there is no sunburn , the treated area is retreated again for 2 seconds . if there is sunburn , treatment is withheld until the sunburn is gone . on the third visit , if there is no sunburn , the dose is increased to 4 seconds . this is repeated the fourth visit , and then increased to 6 seconds on the fifth visit . on the sixth visit , 6 seconds is given again . therefore , in this preferred method , each dose is repeated once , then increased by two seconds , to a maximum of 10 seconds . treatment is continued for one month , or until repigmentation occurs , which is a much shorter time than puva therapy , which typically takes 6 months before any result is seen . repigmentation is the appearance of brown pigment in the treated area , and is documented by standardized photography . in preliminary trials , four out of five patients receiving treatment for a minimum of nine sessions showed some response . this is a significant and substantial improvement in success rate over puva , glucocortoids , or any other current therapy for vitiligo . the repigmented skin is also relatively more permanent than other treatments such as sunscreens and cosmetic cover - ups , and will not rub - off . when compared to standard phototheraphy , the 308 nm excimer laser has the advantage of having increased precision and the ability to deliver higher energy fluences thereby decreasing treatment time . six men and twelve women with multiple discreet chronic stable patches of vitiligo enrolled in the study . most patients had received and failed a variety of prior therapies for vitiligo ( table 1 ). no patient received any additional vitiligo therapy for at least one month prior to and during the study . eighteen patients started the study with a total of twenty - nine treated vitiligo patches . all patients had untreated vitiligo patches that were used as controls . test areas of vitiligo were treated using a 308 - nm xenon chloride excimer laser . a 120 - ns , 20 - hz , pulse was used with a 10 - mm by 10 - mm spot size and a power output of 60 mw of laser light . lesions were treated three times a week for a maximum of 12 treatments . exposure time was started at 2 seconds and increased by 2 seconds at every other visit until complete repigmentation occurred or until the protocol ( 12 treatments ) was completed . treatment was withheld if sunburn was observed and held until resolution . treated areas were evaluated for repigmentation and erythema on separate four point scales . repigmentation was graded on the percentage of treated area of repigmentation as follows : 0 : 0 %, 1 : 1 - 25 %, 2 : 26 - 75 % and 3 : 76 - 100 %. sunburn ( erythema ) was similarly graded as follows : 0 - none , 1 - mild , 2 - moderate , 3 - severe . patients with no repigmentation were defined as non - responders . twelve patients with 23 patches completed at least six treatments . six patients with 11 patches of vitiligo completed all twelve treatments that required an average of four weeks to complete . six patients dropped out of the study before completion of six treatments and resulted in one slight repigmentation and five non - responders . two of the non - responders developed mild erythema . twelve patients with six or more total treatments of 23 vitiligo patches resulted in partial repigmentation in 57 % of twenty - three patches . six patients who completed twelve treatments of 11 vitiligo patches resulted in partial repigmentation in 87 % of eleven patches ( fig4 ). there were no serious adverse events . mild sunburn with persistent erythema lasting up to three weeks was observed in some patients . patients with the most repigmentation were skin - types iii - vi . table 1 sets forth the results . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . all patent applications , patents , patent publications and literature references cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety .
disclosed herein is a novel method of treating vitiligo by using an excimer laser that emits light in the uvb range . the invention includes a method of incrementally increasing exposure of affected vitiligo areas with uvb laser light from an excimer laser to restore pigmentation to skin areas afflicted with vitiligo .