Knowra Vitiligo Vitiligo Vitiligo is an acquired disorder in which pigment-producing melanocytes are lost, leaving sharply defined patches of depigmented skin and sometimes hair.
Melanocyte : A pigment-producing cell in the skin and hair follicles that makes melanin. These cells disappear from affected areas, producing vitiligo’s depigmented patches.
Depigmentation : The loss of melanin from skin or other pigmented tissue. Vitiligo produces complete or near-complete pigment loss in affected patches.
Topical corticosteroid : A corticosteroid medicine applied to the skin to reduce local inflammation and immune activity. It can help repigment limited vitiligo, especially on the face or trunk.
Vitiligo and quality of life : The effects of vitiligo on emotional well-being, social participation, and daily life. Visible patches can cause stigma, distress, or reduced quality of life.
Autoimmunity : An immune response directed against the body’s own cells or tissues. Evidence strongly implicates immune attack against melanocytes in many cases of vitiligo.
Wood's lamp : A long-wave ultraviolet lamp used to examine skin and accentuate selected pigment changes. Its ultraviolet light makes vitiligo patches more sharply visible during examination.
Topical calcineurin inhibitor : A skin-applied medicine that suppresses immune signaling by inhibiting calcineurin. It is often used on sensitive sites such as the face, where prolonged steroid use is undesirable.
Thyroid disease : Disorders in which the thyroid gland produces too much or too little hormone, or develops immune-mediated damage. Autoimmune thyroid disease occurs more often in people with vitiligo than in the general population.
Melanin : A group of pigments that gives color to skin, hair, and eyes and helps absorb ultraviolet radiation. Loss of pigment reflects the absence of melanin normally made by melanocytes.
Vitiligo extent score : A clinical scoring system that estimates the percentage of body surface affected by vitiligo. Extent scores help describe disease burden and track change over time.
Show all 21