Researchers at the Tehran Royan Institute are taking advantage of Iran’s open embryonic research programs. A team lead by Dr Baharvand claims to have pioneered a procedure that uses the patient’s own stem cells to cure vitiligo.
Their research focuses on induced pluripotent stem (IPS), adult stem cells which are made to act like embryonic ones – they gain the ability to become any cell in the human body.

It is only natural that we feel self-conscious about having vitiligo; after all, any deviation from the social norms in physical appearance attracts attention…and most times, it is unwanted.

Repigmentation was seen in 40 of 56 patients (71%), with mean onset at 2 months. They concluded that: “The efficacy and safety of topical PGE2 make it a promising therapy for localized stable vitiligo.”

Vitiligo has been reported among some species of domestic and wild animals. Some of these occurrences have been documented by veterinary journals and publications.