Vitiligo is an auto-immune condition where areas of skin lose their pigmentation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitiligo

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/vitiligo/symptoms-causes/syc-20355912

 

Since Ivermectin seems to have some anti-inflammatory effect (notably against asthma etc.), it is logical to ask whether Vitiligo patients may benefit from Ivermectin.

And we can ask - given the widespread use of Ivermectin around the world - has any evidence emerged for it's effectiveness against Vitiligo?

 

Anecdotal report

Well we have one anecdotal report of an 80+ year old female, whose son reports on reduction of her long term Vitiligo after starting on Ivermectin as prophylaxis against covid19.

The son is a patient of Dr AK Chaurasia in Uttar Pradesh, India (who is a well known early treatment doctor among the early treatment community in India - esp. on Twitter).

 

Confounders

Confounders identified in the discussion are:

• Ivermectin anti-inflammatory effects may be at play here

• Vitiligo being an auto-immune condition may have benefitted from the reaction to covid19 natural infection that the patient ALSO had - and was treated for as well

• Vitiligo - if it is a response to a viral infection or some sort - then Ivermectin as antiviral may be having some effect (speculative)

 

Timing - slow response

What is interesting is that the son describes a gradual elimination of the Vitiligo spots on the skin - i.e. pigmentation returned.

And not a sudden response to some one event.

Though even if there was a one event - the recovery of melatin pigment in the skin may itself be a slow dynamic, which may mask any obvious correlations between treatment and response (i.e. time correlation of response).

So may be hard to correlate the recovery to one event.

 

Here is the Twitter thread where the son describes the changes - he was responding to a discussion on Ivermectin benefit for asthma:

https://twitter.com/rkvweb/status/1491241699229970433?t=sbxOVG2feLKoPzpbiN3Xaw&s=19

KarthikV

Vitiligo has nearly disappeared in my 80+ mother. She’s been on IVM weekly & biweekly prophylaxis since Sep’21 and had lots of the med during Covid treatment in January ‘22. All the white patches have regained pigmentation. Coincidence or undocumented benefit of IVM? No idea.

 

This response is by an early treatment doctors' group which has treated 7000 patients with Fluvoxamine:

https://twitter.com/Rpshahmemorial1/status/1491278531242110976?t=vnCwt9H0zoox3QRyMFj5VA&s=19

R P Shah Memorial Trust #Vaccines, #EarlyTreatment

Your observations may be right by 2 means- The issues may be caused by infection for which IVM can be a treatment as below picture shows Or alternatively due to immune response of Covid the vitiligo may have disappeared and may not be due IVM

 

https://twitter.com/Rpshahmemorial1/status/1491281054468296706?t=1JlgozPlFUdFGGeiMAW9oQ&s=19

R P Shah Memorial Trust #Vaccines, #EarlyTreatment

And then there is Post NF, Luiten RM, Wolkerstorfer A, Bekkenk MW, Böhm M. Does autoimmune vitiligo protect against COVID-19 disease? Exp Dermatol. 2021 Sep;30(9):1254-1257. doi: 10.1111/exd.14407. Epub 2021 Jun 17. PMID: 34081788; PMCID: PMC8239922.

 

https://twitter.com/AboutIndia/status/1491312772185206785?t=V07E9Nl1cW8DaoStVUDQWg&s=19

Sharell Cook

Amazing! There’s research that indicates vitiligo is caused by certain viruses, so IVM may have inhibited them.

https://medwinpublishers.com/VIJ/VIJ16000181.pdf

 

Paper:

https://medwinpublishers.com/VIJ/VIJ16000181.pdf

Viral causes of Vitiligo: A New Perspective for Vitiligo Pathogenesis

August 02, 2018

Abstract

Vitiligo is an acquired skin depigmenting disorder due to loss of functional melanocytes in the epidermis. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain its etiopathogenesis; however autoimmune pathomechanisms have been suggested to play an important role in the disease development.

Previously, the viral causes of vitiligo have been suggested to be involved in vitiligo pathogenesis, however at present there are no such studies available to elucidate the role of viruses in inducing autoimmune mechanisms in vitiligo.

The current article briefly summarizes all previous and currently available such studies involving viruses in vitiligo pathogenesis. The vitiligo being a complex autoimmune disorder and an important disease of research opens a new way to look at the virus based autoimmune mechanisms to cause vitiligo.

 

https://twitter.com/rkvweb/status/1491359494080966656?t=DMpZOZ_NKOS9JiJ7h0Poig&s=19

KarthikV

Thanks for this! Will show to my mother. She's surprised by skin pigmentation reappearing, but didn't quite link it to IVM. She had been applying topical lotions and creams (including steroidal ones) for over six months before Sep'21 and was frustrated by the lack of results.

 

https://twitter.com/AboutIndia/status/1491398451003027458?t=U1016EYGgMrqk8aQ4cZKGw&s=19

Sharell Cook

You’re welcome! This is another study you might be interested in regarding IVM and viruses. It will link in with the other one I gave you about vitiligo and viruses.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7536980/

 

Paper:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7536980/ Quantitative proteomics reveals a broad‐spectrum antiviral property of ivermectin, benefiting for COVID‐19 treatment

Na Li, Lingfeng Zhao, and Xianquan Zhan

Sept 22, 2020

 

https://twitter.com/speakshoutroar/status/1491252260030271490?t=3f4-Cdwem5CMprsNuhpYig&s=19

Awaaz

Can we have more data on this. Can doctors work on this to check as a vitiligo treatment. Many kids got vitiligo due to polio drops in early 2000. This could be a breakthrough if IVM works for vitiligo.

 

https://twitter.com/sanjaysmehta/status/1491273665442639874?t=xda8IvyYFiIv2Mc2pfhL7w&s=19

sanjay mehta

there could be many more anecdotal revelations about ivermectin the drug that pharma now wants to suppress. let us keep the experiences & information flow freely. @deepakdeepak

 

https://twitter.com/drakchaurasia/status/1491327592766779393?t=W5BucU7fNYrcK1jKr2ncEQ&s=19

dr a k chaurasia

not anecdotal, ivermectin is well validated and having a well proved mode of action. see this thread

https://twitter.com/fx_alluka/status/1491244620642095109?t=pDKHQnVrGzmYxNTzbC1y-Q&s=19

 

NOTE: also see thread mentioned by drakchaurasia above ..

 

https://twitter.com/kellydan82/status/1491344684358144000?t=ih63x40gIn_JojccThubOA&s=19

Dankell82

Would love to see more research on this, I'm a phototherapy nurse, I treat vitaligo with light therapy would be interesting to see if IVM works

 

https://twitter.com/speakshoutroar/status/1491258194928496643?t=Wv2lOe9LWsFFeYAA9qRUMQ&s=19

Awaaz

Can you please dm me the exact medicines and the dosage of IVM that your grandmother was taking.

 

https://twitter.com/VishnuFNO/status/1491251863442067461?t=j9PaQ2YqiJPMh2kCyMDRWQ&s=19

Vishnu

I had cough even after 25 days of Fever.

Took Three doses of Ivermectin and Two doses of Zincovit

Four glasses of Orange Juice. Cough is almost gone.

Earlier I took four doses of Ivermectin after fever gone. Cough reduced by 80%.