Vitamin D3 analogues improve café au lait spots in patients with von Recklinghausen's disease: experimental and clinical studies.

Topical application of vitamin D3 analogues for 6 months was found to be effective in improving the pigmentation of café au lait spots in patients with von Recklinghausen's disease. Treatment of café au lait spots grafted onto nude mice with a vitamin D3 analogue caused suppression of bromodeoxy- uridine uptake in the cells of the basal layer. Vitamin D3 analogues also decreased melanin pigment in café au lait spots after 4 weeks of treatment. Thus, it is considered that long-term application of vitamin D3 analogues is effective both for improving the pigmentation of café au lait spots and suppressing the development of neurofibromas in patients with von Recklinghausen's disease.