Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2007

Mentor: Amit G. Pandya, M.D.
Department: Dermatology
Room number: Clinical Building 1, DF2.524A
Mail Code: 9190
Phone number: 214-648-5770
E-mail: amit.pandya@utsouthwestern.edu
Project title: The efficacy of hand-foot narrow band UVB versus focal 308 nm treatment in inducing repigmentation of vitiligo after minigrafting on the dorsal hands.

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):

Project Type (patient-based research, animal-based research, or basic research; this characterization is only to permit a general classification for grouping similar types of projects)

Patient-based research

Brief Description of Project:

To assess the efficacy of treatment with a hand-foot narrow-band UVB (NBUVB) box versus the Excilite 308-nm light source in inducing repigmentation after minigrafting of vitiligo lesions on the dorsal hands. Minigrafting will be performed on lesions on both dorsal hands. Patients will then be treated one week later with the hand-foot NBUVB box on one hand and the Excilite on the other hand. Light treatments will be performed three times a week on non-consecutive days for a total of 12 weeks. The primary endpoints are the percent repigmentation of individual surviving grafts, percent repigmentation of all surviving grafts per hand, and the percent repigmentation of lesional skin with each light source. Secondary endpoints include time to initial 10% repigmentation per graft, time to initial 10% repigmentation per lesion, the physician global repigmentation assessment, and an assessment of the safety of each treatment determined by recording side effects at every visit. The student will be involved in administering the light treatments to the patients, assisting with the surgical procedures, documentation of light doses and repigmentation rates as well as photographing the lesions.

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:

1. Dominguez AR, Balkrishnan R, Ellzey AR, Pandya AG. Melasma in Latina patients: Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of a quality-of-life questionnaire in Spanish language. J Am Acad Dermatol, 2006; 55 (1):59-66.

2. Werlinger KD, Guevara IL, Gonzalez CM, Rincon ET, Caetano R, Haley RW, Pandya AG. Prevalence of Self-diagnosed Melasma Among Premenopausal Latino Women in Dallas and Fort Worth, Tex. Arch Dermatol, 2007; 143 (3):424-425.

3. Berthelot C, Dickerson MC, Rady P, He Q, Niroomand F, Tyring SK, Pandya AG. Treatment of a patient with epidermodysplasia verruciformis carrying a novel EVER2 mutation with imiquimod. J Am Acad Dermatol 2007; 56:882-886

4. Germanas J, Pandya AG. Alkylating agents. Dermatol Ther 2002, (15):317-314