Fact Check: Can a topical spray cure vitiligo in just 4 weeks?

Hyderabad: An advertisement for a herbal spray is making rounds on social media claiming that the spray can potentially cure vitiligo in weeks.

The viral advertisement claims that the spray is enough to treat years-old severe vitiligo conditions. The advertisement further claims that no matter how long the person has been struggling with vitiligo, the ointment can get rid of it within four weeks just by applying the ointment twice a day.

Is this legit? Let’s find out.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false.

What is Vitiligo?

Mayoclinic describes vitiligo as a disease that causes loss of skin colour in patches. The discoloured areas usually get bigger with time. The condition can affect the skin on any part of the body. It can also affect the hair and the inside of the mouth. Normally, the colour of hair and skin is determined by melanin. Vitiligo occurs when cells that produce melanin die or stop functioning.

Types of vitiligo include:

- Localised vitiligo which develops in a few spots or patches that appear in one or a few places on the body.

- Generalised vitiligo that occurs in scattered patches of colour loss on different areas of the body.

- Segmental vitiligo where people tend to see rapid colour loss on one side of the body.

- Non-segmental vitiligo tends to spread slowly with new patches developing off and on throughout a person’s life.

- Mixed-type vitiligo is a rare type of vitiligo. People with this type develop both segmental vitiligo and colour loss beyond the area with segmental vitiligo.

The US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) recently approved a topical ointment named Opzelura (ruxolitinib) for the treatment of vitiligo.

But there are a few specific limitations of the approved ointment.

- The FDA has approved Opzelura (ruxolitinib) cream for the treatment of non-segmental vitiligo.

- It must only be applied to adult and paediatric patients 12 years of age and older.

- It is currently approved for the topical short-term and non-continuous chronic treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in non-immunocompromised patients 12 years of age and older.

- Satisfactory patient response may require treatment with Opzelura for more than 24 weeks.

- At the end of the clinical trials, 30 per cent of Opzelura patients had at least 75 per cent improvement in the facial vitiligo Area Scoring Index, compared with 10 per cent of placebo patients. This means that the ointment still needs to be improved.

Lastly, Mayoclinic says, “No drug can stop the process of vitiligo — the loss of pigment cells (melanocytes). But some drugs, used alone, in combination or with light therapy, can help restore some colour.”

Hence, the claim is false.