The involvement of other viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus, hepatitis E & C virus, herpes virus, herpes zoster virus, CMV, in addition to HIV is indicative of crucial role of viruses in development of vitiligo through modulating the immune system.
It's produced in cells called melanocytes. Vitiligo occurs when pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) die or stop producing melanin — the pigment that gives your skin, hair and eyes color. The involved patches of skin become lighter or white. It's unclear exactly what causes these pigment cells to fail or die.
Vitiligo is caused by the lack of a pigment called melanin in the skin. Melanin is produced by skin cells called melanocytes, and it gives your skin its colour. In vitiligo, there are not enough working melanocytes to produce enough melanin in your skin. This causes white patches to develop on your skin or hair.
Research suggests vitiligo could be the result of: An autoimmune condition: Your immune system mistakes healthy cells (melanocytes) as foreign invaders like bacteria that can cause harm to your body. This makes your immune system overreact and develop antibodies to destroy your melanocytes.
Parasites and chronic gastritis that impair absorption of vital elements by the digestive system may also indirectly cause vitiligo.
Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease. Normally, the immune system works throughout your body to fight off and defend your body from viruses, bacteria, and infection. In people with autoimmune diseases, the immune cells attack the body's own healthy tissues by mistake.
An autoimmune condition causes vitiligo, but a fungal infection causes tinea versicolor. Tinea versicolor can be a nuisance and make you feel insecure. Luckily, the discoloration it creates on your skin is highly treatable with over-the-counter antifungal creams or shampoos.
Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease of the skin, which means that someone with vitiligo has an immune system that is malfunctioning in a small way. The normal role of the immune system is to protect you from infections and cancer.
Additionally, the use of probiotics has been suggested for vitiligo recently. There is evidence that microbiome changes play a role in vitiligo pathogenesis, by affecting immune homeostasis, oxidative stress, skin barrier, and even gene expression [11].
Significant number of vitiligo patients have diverse psychological problems. Hormonal response to psychological stress such as cortisol has a role in the development of vitiligo.
Protect your skin from the sun.
A bad sunburn can worsen vitiligo. If you have a lighter skin tone, there's another advantage to protecting your skin from the sun. Without a tan, the lighter spots and patches are often less noticeable.
Pityriasis versicolor can sometimes be confused with vitiligo, as they both cause the skin to become discoloured in patches. But there are ways to tell the difference: vitiligo often develops symmetrically (on both sides of your body at the same time), while pityriasis versicolor may not.
There is no "cure" for vitiligo. Sometimes patches go away on their own. But when that doesn't happen, doctors can prescribe treatments that might help even out skin tone.
Vitiligo is an idiopathic disorder of skin and hair characterized by melanin loss. Nonetheless thyroid disorder is a major cause of this pathology, other factors participate in its expression. Hormones such as, testosterone and estrogen have been suspected as drivers of this disorder.
“Patients with sleep disorders may suffer the potential risk for vitiligo. Therefore, a bidirectional relationship exists between vitiligo and sleep disorders.”
In addition to these risk factors, we found that having a history of a repeated antibiotic use caused presumably vitiligo in our patients. The action of antibiotics on skin pigmentation has been studied on the animal model (mouse) and has been explained by their actions on both the microbiome and the immune system [24.
To the best of our knowledge, vitamin D significantly affects melanocytes and keratinocytes. Studies suggest that vitamin D3 increases tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis in vitro [12], which may lead to repigmentation in vitiligo skin lesions.
A diet for vitiligo should also include foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and seeds, as these have anti-inflammatory properties which can reduce the inflammation that contributes to the development of vitiligo.
It is also an important coenzyme in the reactions of melanin synthesis. It has been suggested that zinc supplements are a beneficial adjuvant therapy for patients with vitiligo. This theory is based on zinc's proposed ability to protect melanocytes via antiapoptotic and antioxidant properties.
Vitiligo is associated with several comorbid autoimmune, systemic, and dermatological diseases, primarily thyroid disease, alopecia areata, diabetes mellitus, pernicious anemia, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Addison's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, Sjögren's syndrome, dermatomyositis, ...
New cohort analysis data suggest the risk of COVID-19 death is about 38% decreased among patients with the autoimmune disease.
People with vitiligo may also have an increased risk of other autoimmune conditions, such as pernicious anemia, Addison's disease, and Sjögren's disease.
The opposite of Vitiligo, Melasma is a hyperpigmentary disease.
These two diseases produce skin changes. These two are very different diseases; vitiligo is an autoimmune skin disease that destroys the skin's pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) while tinea versicolor results from superficial infection by a yeast, Malassezia furfur.
The overgrowth of fungus that causes tinea versicolor interferes with the normal pigment production of the skin. This creates an uneven skin pigment. Tinea versicolor is a common fungal infection of the skin. The fungus interferes with the normal pigmentation of the skin, resulting in small, discolored patches.