This study suggests that fractional CO(2) laser therapy followed by NB-UVB phototherapy could be used effectively and safely as an alternative modality for the treatment of refractory vitiligo.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Purpose: Vitiligo prevalence and its associated comorbidities rate have been reported variably among different populations. We aimed to determine the prevalence of vitiligo in Korea along with the baseline rate of comorbidities and compared the risks to the general population using hospital visit information of the total population in Korea. Materials and Methods: We assessed demographic characteristics of vitiligo patients in Korean population from 2009 to 2011 in a nationwide data from Health Insurance Review Assessment Service. Patients who had at least one visit to Korea's primary, secondary, or tertiary referral hospitals with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis code for vitiligo were identified. As a supplementary study, comorbidities associated with vitiligo were selected for further review to calculate relative risks compared to the general population. Results: The annual prevalence of vitiligo determined by hospital-visiting rate in Korea was 0.12% to 0.13% over a three year period. In sync with other previous epidemiological studies, there was bimodal distribution among the age groups and no difference between genders. Also, vitiligo in Korean population was associated with various autoimmune/non-autoimmune diseases such as thyroiditis, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis. Conclusion: This study was by far the most comprehensive review on prevalence of vitiligo using a data of total population in Korea. The prevalence is within a range of those reported in previous literatures, and increased risk of comorbidities such as thyroid diseases and psoriasis in vitiligo might aid clinicians in the initial work up of vitiligo patients and concurrent follow ups.

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Background: Some studies have reported the use of 308-nm excimer laser therapy for treating alopecia areata (AA); however, the effectiveness of this therapy on a theoretical basis has not yet been comparatively analyzed. Objectives: To determine the therapeutic effect of excimer laser therapy on AA. Methods: One alopecic patch was divided into control and treated sides in 10 patients with AA. Then, 308-nm excimer laser therapy was administered twice a week for 12 weeks. Photograph and phototrichogram analyses were performed. Results: Photographic assessments by both dermatologists and individuals of the general population showed objective improvements after excimer laser therapy. On the treated side, the hair count and hair diameter had statistically increased after treatment. However, only the hair diameter was found to be significantly high in the treated half when it was compared with the control side. Conclusion: The 308-nm excimer laser has a therapeutic effect on AA, which is proven by photograph and phototrichogram analysis by a side-by-side comparison.