Case report demonstrates regression of vitiligo in a patient treated with high-dose simvastatin, suggesting statins possess immunomodulatory potential for autoimmune skin conditions.
BACKGROUND: HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) are commonly used in medicine to control blood lipid disorder. Large clinical trials have demonstrated that statins greatly reduces cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality in patients with and without coronary artery disease. Also, the use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors has been reported to have immunosuppressive effects. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe an unusual case of regression of vitiligo in a patient treated with high dose simvastatin. The relation between simvastatin and regression of vitiligo in this case report may be related to the autoimmune pathophysiology of the disease. CONCLUSION: This unexpected beneficial impact provides another scientific credence to the hypothesis that immune mechanisms play a role in the development of vitiligo and that the use of statins as immuno-modulator could be of use not only for treatment relative to organ transplant but in other pathologies such as vitiligo.
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Noël et al. (2004) studied this question.
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