Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2009
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:
1. The efficacy of hand-foot narrow band UVB versus focal 308 nm treatment in
inducing repigmentation of vitiligo after minigrafting on the dorsal hands.
2. Characterization of Clinical Response in Vitiligo Patients Undergoing Autologous
Epidermal Punch Grafting.
Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):
1. 122007-003
2. 072008-065
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)
Brief Description of Project:
1. 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, Ms. Feetham, began this
project last summer and the study has continued over the past year. Most of
our patients are completed with their light treatments and a few still have
to come in for the final evaluation. The student with be involved in conducting
any final evaluations and gathering any more data/photographs that are needed.
The student will be involved in gathering and analyzing all of the collected
data from our study patients as well as beginning and completing the writing
process of this paper under the direction of me and a former resident (who began
this project last summer with Ms. Feetham).
2. This study aim is to conduct a retrospective study of vitiligo patients who have undergone autologous punch-grafting in order to assess the clinical characteristics of the response to this technique. We plan to assess patients on file that have been seen in Dr. Pandya's clinic over the past three years and to review retrospectively the clinical data, including chart documentation and photographs taken prior to and after transplantation of punch grafts. The re-pigmentation response rate will characterized qualitatively as minimal, partial, or complete, in addition to assessing the patient's age, gender, ethnicity, body location involvement, and concomitant therapies. Based on these findings, a greater understanding of the efficacy for this technique can be achieved. Jill Feetham has been working on this project throughout the past fall and spring semester and recently presented our findings at the Skin of Color Society in San Francisco. If time permitting this summer, we would like her to collect more data on additional patient that have received autologous punch-grafting to add to our current group of 30 patients as well as we would like her to begin and complete the writing process of this paper.
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