LAUSR

Vitiligo is associated with oxidant stress and α‐lipoic acid (ALA) is an antioxidative agent. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral ALA in combination with NB‐UVB phototherapy on nonsegmental stable vitiligo. The prospective, multi‐center, parallel controlled, double‐blind randomized clinical trial was conducted from 2012 to 2014, in seven comprehensive tertiary hospitals in China. The patients were randomized into oral ALA group or placebo group at a dose of 300 mg daily for 6 months. All of them received NB‐UVB phototherapy three times weekly. The repigmentation rate was evaluated by 4‐point grading scale of improvement: >98%, 50‐98%, 10‐49%, <10%. A total of 133 patients were enrolled in the study, including 72 cases in treatment group and 61 cases in control group. In treatment group, 2.04% (1/49) patients achieved ≥50% improvement at 1‐month after enrollment (M1), and the percentage of patients increased to 8.51% (4/47), 14.0% (6/43), and 37.8% (14/37) at M2, M3, and M6, respectively. In control group, the percentages were similar at all timepoints. No significant difference was seen between the two groups (P > .05). For elder patients, younger patients, male or female, no significant differences were found between treatment group and control group at all timepoints. ALA did not show additional benefit to NB‐UVB therapy in the treatment of nonsegmental stable vitiligo. More studies should be done to identify other protocols of ALA or other types of antioxidants for stable vitiligo.