Evaluation of the therapeutic effect of coenzyme Q10 in patients with generalized vitiligo

Background: Vitiligo is a skin autoimmune disease that affects 0.1% to more than 8% of people in the world. About 50% of patients develop the disease before the age of 20. In this disease, melanocytes are destroyed in the skin, mucous membranes and retina. As a result, white spots appear on different parts of the body. Studies have suggested the role of oxidative stress in vitiligo. Coenzyme Q10 is a specific lipophilic antioxidant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of coenzyme Q10 in patients with generalized vitiligo. Methods: This study was a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial of patients with generalized vitiligo who had been referred to the dermatology clinics of Vali-e-Asr Hospital and Imam Reza Clinic in May-August 2016. The sampling method was random. Patients were treated with standard treatment, and the case groups in addition to standard treatment with tablets containing coenzyme Q10. Patients were evaluated for response at the first visit, 1 and 3 months after the start of treatment. Results: The mean age of 50 patients was 26.2±4.3 years. The diameter of the largest depigmented patch decreased in both intervention (P=0.000) and control (P=0.001) groups during 3 months of treatment. The difference in the frequency of patients in the grade of repigmentation was significant at the end of the third month compared to the end of the first month of treatment in both intervention (P=0.01) and control (P=0.02) groups. At the end of the third month, the frequency of patients in both intervention group with 21 patients (76%) and the control group with 18 patients (72%) were more in grades 1 and 2, while at the end of the first month, the frequency of patients in both intervention groups with 23 patients (92%) and control with 23 patients (92%) was more in grades 0 and 1. Conclusion: Adjuvant therapy with oral coenzyme Q10 has no effect on improving depigment patch in vitiligo.