Topical application of simvastatin acid sodium salt and atorvastatin calcium salt in vitiligo patients. Results of the randomized, double-blind EVRAAS pilot study

Abstract

Abstract Contemporary treatment of vitiligo remains a great challenge to practitioners. The vast majority of currently conducted clinical trials of modern therapeutic methods are focused on systemic medications, while there is only a very limited number of reports on new topical treatment in vitiligo. With their pleiotropic activities statins turned out to be efficient in the treatment of various autoimmune/autoinflammatory disorders. The randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study of topical administration of the active forms of simvastatin and atorvastatin has been designed to evaluate their efficacy in patients with vitiligo. The study was registered in clinicaltrials.gov (registration number NCT03247400, date of registration: 11th August 2017). A total of 24 patients with the active form of non-segmental vitiligo were enrolled in the study. The change of absolute area of skin lesions, body surface area and vitiligo area scoring index were evaluated throughout the 12 week application of ointments containing simvastatin and atorvastatin. Measurements were performed with planimetry and processed using digital software. Use of active forms of simvastatin and atorvastatin did not result in a significant repigmentation of the skin lesions throughout the study period. Within the limbs treated with topical simvastatin, inhibition of disease progression was significantly more frequent than in the case of placebo (p = 0.004), while the difference was not statistically significant for atorvastatin (p = 0.082). Further studies of topical simvastatin in vitiligo patients should be considered.