In vivo data non-invasive methods for vitiligo evaluation electron microscopy

Abstract

Core Messages: The extension and severity of vitiligo guide prognosis and help making therapeutic choices. However, in spite of attempts to standardise clinical judgment, wide variations exist both in assessment rules and interpretation of their use, making intra-and inter-observer variations unavoidable. Ultraviolet (UV)-light examination and UV photography remain useful tools for the assessment of Caucasoid patients. Non-invasive instruments that use reflectance spectroscopy provide a convenient and reproducible methodology for the study of vitiligo patients and their follow-up. Reflectance confocal microscopy provides microscopical informations in vivo about changes in achromic macules both in repig-mented areas after treatments and in clinically normal-appearing skin of vitiligo patients. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.