Key Facts
1. What is vitiligo?
Vitiligo is a skin condition that causes white patches on the skin. It affects around 0.5%-1.0% of the population worldwide, both children and adults.
2. Who is eligible?
We are seeking 440 adults and children (from 5 years of age) across the UK with a few relatively small patches of vitiligo, and at least one patch that has appeared or has enlarged in the last 12 months.
3. What treatments are you testing?
Steroid ointment applied to the skin and home-based light therapy are the two treatments being tested in this study. These two treatments will be used alone or in combination, in order to see if combination treatment works better than either treatment alone.
In order to prevent anyone from guessing a participant’s treatment, dummy UVB devices and placebo steroid ointment will be used.
4. How long will the study last for?
The trial is funded for just over 4 years, starting November 2014. We expect that recruitment will take up to 18 months and will start in late spring 2015.
Study participants use their treatments at home for 9 months, during which time they will visit their recruiting hospital every 3 months. They will also be asked to fill in some questionnaires at home. Once the treatment has been completed, we will stay in touch for another year so that you can tell us how the vitiligo is. Total involvement in the study is for 21 months.
5. Where will you be recruiting participants?
The following hospitals are recruiting for the HI-Light Vitiligo Trial:
- Cannock Chase Hospital
- St Lukes, Bradford
- University Hospital Wales, Cardiff
- Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
- Solihull Hospital
- West Ambulatory Care Hospital, Glasgow
- Whipps Cross Hospital, London
- Birmingham Children’s Hospital
- York Hospital
- Royal Derby Hospital
- Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham
- Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
- University Hospital of North Durham
- Royal London Hospital
- The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough
- Birmingham City Hospital
6. What happens during the trial?
Please download one of the Participant Information Sheets (right-hand panel) if you are interested in finding out more about the HI-Light Vitiligo Trial.
If you or your child would like to take part, you will be asked to attend your nearest participating hospital, where a research nurse will talk to you about the trial and examine the vitiligo. If you are included in the trial, you will be asked to use both an ointment and a hand-held light therapy unit for up to 9 months.
You will be given training on how to use these treatments and will be able to ring the research nurse if you have any problems or questions. A training video is available to help you.
So that we can see if the treatments are working, we will take photographs of the vitiligo before and after treatment, and you will be asked to return to the clinic every 3 months for the 9-month period when you are using the treatments.