Summary: During the 2011 International Pigment Cell Conference (IPCC), the Vitiligo European Taskforce (VETF) convened a consensus conference on issues of global importance for vitiligo clinical research. As suggested by an international panel of experts, the conference focused on four topics: classification and nomenclature; definition of stable disease; definition of Koebner’s phenomenon (KP); and ‘autoimmune vitiligo’. These topics were discussed in seven working groups representing different geographical regions. A consensus emerged that segmental vitiligo be classified separately from all other forms of vitiligo and that the term ‘vitiligo’ be used as an umbrella term for all non‐segmental forms of vitiligo, including ‘mixed vitiligo’ in which segmental and non‐segmental vitiligo are combined and which is considered a subgroup of vitiligo. Further, the conference recommends that disease stability be best assessed based on the stability of individual lesions rather than the overall stability of the disease as the latter is difficult to define precisely and reliably. The conference also endorsed the classification of KP for vitiligo as proposed by the VETF (history based, clinical observation based, or experimentally induced). Lastly, the conference agreed that ‘autoimmune vitiligo’ should not be used as a separate classification as published evidence indicates that the pathophysiology of all forms of vitiligo likely involves autoimmune or inflammatory mechanisms.

The aetiopathogenic mechanisms of vitiligo are still poorly understood, and this has held back progress in diagnosis and treatment. Up until now, treatment guidelines have existed at national levels, but no common European viewpoint has emerged. This guideline for the treatment of segmental and nonsegmental vitiligo has been developed by the members of the Vitiligo European Task Force and other colleagues. It summarizes evidence‐based and expert‐based recommendations (S1 level).

Vitiligo is an important skin disease having major impact on quality of life of patients, many of whom feel distressed and stigmatized by their condition. Society greets vitiligo patients in much the same way as it does any one else who appears to be different. They are started at or subjected to whispered comments, antagonism, insult or isolation. The chronic nature of disease, long term treatment, lack of uniform effective therapy and unpredictable course of disease is usually very demoralizing for patients suffering from vitiligo. It is important to recognize and deal with psychological components of this disease to improve their quality of life and to obtain a better treatment response.

Background: A large variety of therapeutic agents are being tried for the treatment of vitiligo, but psoralens continue to be mainstay of treatment although they are not uniformly effective. Recent advances in pathophysiology have established a perturbed calcium homeostasis in affected skin, and melanocytes were shown to express vitamin D₃ receptors. Objective: The purpose of present study was to determine the efficacy of the combination of PUVAsol with topical calcipotriol in the treatment of vitiligo. Methods: Nineteen patients with essentially bilateral symmetrical lesions were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, right/left comparative study of 18 months duration. An oral dose of 0.6 mg/kg 8-methoxypsoralen was given 2 h before exposure to sunlight thrice weekly to all patients. The patients were advised to apply calcipotriol (50 μg/g) on one side of the body and placebo ointment over the lesions on the other side twice daily. Results: At the end of 6 months, 12 patients (70%) showed marked to complete improvement on calcipotriol-treated sides as compared to 6 patients (35%) showing similar improvement on placebo-treated sides (p <0.05). At the end of treatment, 13 patients (76%) showed marked improvement in calcipotriol-treated lesions whereas 9 patients (53%) showed moderate to marked improvement in placebo-treated lesions. The repigmentation of hands and feet was much better with the combination of PUVAsol and calcipotriol. Conclusion: The combination of PUVA and calcipotriol is highly effective and works faster and may be used for shortening the therapy with PUVA in the treatment of vitiligo.