A novel 311nm Titanium:Sapphire UV laser demonstrates comparable efficacy and safety when compared to 308nm excimer laser in the treatment of localized vitiligo, according to a study recently published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.

Manufactured by LASEROPTEK Co. Ltd.,  PALLAS is a gain switched, Ti:Sapphire solid state 311nm UV-B laser and is CE Marked as well as US Food and Drug Administration cleared for UV phototherapy of psoriasis, vitiligo, atopic dermatitis and leukoderma.

The technology negates the need for excimer gas thereby eliminating consumable costs and laser downtime due to gas replacement servicing, the company states.

Jung Min Bae, MD, PhD and his team at the Saint Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine's Department of Dermatology at the Catholic University of Korea in Suwon, Korea, conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing a 311nm Titanium:Sapphire UV laser (TSL) with a 308nm excimer laser (EL) in the treatment of localized vitiligo.  In this study, 74 paired vitiligo lesions in 21 patients were assigned to either a TSL or EL group.  The lesions were treated twice weekly for 12 weeks and evaluated every 4 weeks, measuring and comparing the extent of re-pigmentation in each group, the study showed.

The TSL group showed similar therapeutic effect to the EL group. Particularly, excellent re-pigmentation (76–100 percent) was observed in 65.0 percent of facial lesions after 12 weeks of TSL treatment compared to re-pigmentation of 60 percent in the EL treatment group. These results are encouraging given that laser treatments are widely used to treat localized vitiligo and particularly in facial lesions.

Furthermore, in a separate animal study, 311nm TSL treatment is shown to induce expression of endothelin-1 stem cell factor and WNT7a; cytokines involved in melanocyte differentiation, proliferation, and migration.

"Since we demonstrated that 311nm Ti:Sapphire UV laser and 308nm excimer laser are similarly efficacious and safe as vitiligo treatments in a non-inferiority randomized controlled trial, the 311nm Ti:Sapphire UV laser can serve as an alternative treatment option for localized vitiligo," says Bae in a news release.

PHOTO CAPTION: PALLAS is the world's first gain switched, Ti:Sapphire solid state 311nm UV-B laser and is CE Marked as well as FDA cleared for UV phototherapy of psoriasis, vitiligo, atopic dermatitis and leukoderma. The advanced solid-state technology developed and deployed in PALLAS negates the need for excimer gas thereby eliminating consumable costs and laser downtime due to gas replacement servicing. Developed & Manufactured by LASEROPTEK Co. Ltd.