[jimbo2000]

Van
It’s a very interesting question u have raised. I have wondered about this myself. My maternal grandfather, my mother and I, all have vitiligo (CRAP!! what a genetic jackpot!) . I have seen at least two other Indians and possibly more with Vitiligo. When I was diagnosed with it in 2000 , I was shell shocked! I wasn’t aware my mother had it until I was diagnosed with it! Her case is hardly noticeable.

As for the diet, I think Indians overall get more vitamins/minerals than any “western” diet. I mean, we may be destroying vitamins during cooking. But at the same time I think we tend to eat a lot of un-cooked veggies ( in raitaas, palyas etc). So I dont know if we are really vitamin/mineral deprived. If we were, I think we would be be seeing a lot more Vitamin related deficiencies in India.

Another reason beeing that Vit is considered to be an auto-immune disease. Pretty much all the treatments for Vitiligo (PVA, NB UVB, Protopic, Elidel…u name it) were originally treatments for other conditions like Psoriasis/Eczema. The FDA has approved Protopic/Elidel only for Excema, I believe, and not for Vitiligo (yet). But Psoriasis, Eczema and Vitiligo seem to have some common etiology and therefore the similar treatments. Given their similarity and the fact that Psoriasis/Eczema are not really that common in India, but Vitiligo is, it seems unlikely that diet is the primary cause.

It is more likely that it is a genetic defect (either thru mutation or thru inheritance). In India, marriages between relatives (close or distant) is fairly common, I think. Marriages are generally done within the community/class/clan. And therefore it makes sense that a genetic defect like Vitiligo is propogated more easily. That could explain the higher % of Vit cases.

Just some of my thoughts.

PS: Oh and if you havent already contributed to VSI, please DO SO NOW!! We need to fund research more aggesively and proactively so that we can at least expect some decent treatments within the next 10-15 years. PLEASE CONTRIBUTE NOW!!. Every little bit can and will make a difference. Be it in Rupees, Pounds, Dollars or any other currency.

[jimbo2000]

Interesting….I have fatty liver (non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis- NASH). But I think that is either because I took accutane or because of the cortisone cremes I used to use for Vitiligo. I am currently doing follow up test to monitor the progress of it.

My mom suggested I try Liv 52 as well. I was using it for a short while. The one thing I’d defenetly like to see more of is reaserch on Ayurvedic treatments. My mom is a firm beliver in Ayurvedic stuff and I think there is a lot to it as well. If we can have more scientific reaserch on Liv 52 and how it helps make you liver better, I’d be more enthusiastic about taking it.

I am currently trying a traditional Indian treatment (a powder mixed with lime juice+sunlight). I got it from a place in Bangalore. It has repigmented a couple of my spots(eyelids, a spot on my uper chest)…slowly but surely. I am also taking a supplimental tablet with as part of that treatment. I am hoping to see more progress. I am guessing this is similar to PUVA…a homemade PUVA if you will. Lime juice/skin contains Psoralen (the P in PUVA). Im trying to see if there is some company that would be willing to do more research on what excatly the powder/tablet contains and how it helps Vitiligo.

I am also going to be trying some medication from Kottai kal. Dont know how effective it will be…but at this point I am more than willing to try anything. Sucks that there is no modern scientific research on any of this…whether or not they are effective….how effective they are etc.

[jimbo2000]

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[jimbo2000]

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Neesha,
About the carrot juice stuff…to tell you the truth, I have been eating a lot of baby carrots lately hoping that it helps…your know out of desperation, just like you. Oh, BTW, I like the name Shitiligo…I think that sums up how we all feel about this damn thing

I had been researching online about psoralens(which is what is used in PUVA) and found this page:
http://www.telemedicine.org/botanica/bot5.htm

If you scroll down some 3/4 down (Table 6), you will see the various categories of naturally occuring psoralen fruits/vegetables/plants. Carrots are among them. So carrots, limes, figs etc have natural psoralen in them. And therefore it makes some sense that consuming them and exposing yourself to sunlight is sort of a homemade PUVA treatment.

If you read the top of the article, it says that this method has been used for several thousands of years in India/China/Egypt. Some Egyptian guy came up with the first modern PUVA treatment way back in the 1940s. Sucks that nothign more effective has been found since then.

Hope that helps.

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