comparison of the therapeutic efficacy of concomitant administration of levamisole and clobetasol with clobetasol in vitiligo

introduction vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary disorder of the skin and has significant harmful effects on the appearance and consequently social functions of the patients. there is no universally effective treatment for this disease, but topical steroids and levamisole have been used. this study evaluates the effects of levamisole and clobetasol with that of clobetasol in the treatment of vitiligo. methods through a randomized clinical trial, 73 adult patients with vitiligo were divided into two groups. the first group consisted of 37 patients and received levamisole 150 mg daily for 2 consecutive days per week, and topical clobetasol ointment 0.05% daily. the second group consisted of 36 patients and received topical clobetasol ointment 0.05% daily. treatment was continued for 4 months and 35 patients in each group completed the study. results of seventy patients who completed the study, 32 were males and 38 were females aged between 18 and 55 years. in the first group, 37.1% showed no response, another 37.1% had partial response and 25.8% showed complete response to treatment. in the second group, these 3 types of responses were observed in 25.7%, 54.3% and 20% of subjects, respectively. there was no statistically significant difference between the responses of the two groups. conclusions it seems that addition of levamisole to clobetasol is not helpful in the treatment of vitiligo. keywords levamisole, clobetasol, vitiligo.