Vitiligo autoimmunity

Although etiopathogenesis of vitiligo, which progresses with melanocyte destruction, is not exactly known, it is usually based on the autoimmune hypothesis. The strongest evidence for the autoimmune origin of vitiligo is its association with some autoimmune disease and the presence of autoantibodies in these diseases. Objective of this study is to determine the presence of the autoantibodies related to systemic autoimmune diseases those may be associated with vitiligo in which autoimmunity is accused. The early diagnose and treatment of systemic diseases and cutaneous diseases associated with vitiligo may be possible if this autoimmune relation can be shown. 118 patients diagnosed as vitiligo in the department of dermatology, at Çukurova University School of Medicine were included in the study. 103 patients were investigated retrospectively and 15 patients prospectively. After a detailed history and a careful physical examination of each patient involved in the study, the diagnose was confirmed by a Wood lamp examination . Patients were queried comprehensively about age, gender, the clinical types of the lesions of vitiligo, age of onset, duration of the disease, family history of vitiligo, presence of any stress factor before the onset of the disease, positiveness of Koebner?s phenomenon. Laboratory analysis were examined for systemic otoimmune diseases associated with vitiligo. Autoantibodies and the frequency of autoimmune diseases which determined in some patients were similar to the literature. Three patients underwent biopsy for histopathologic examination. Determination of lymphocyte infiltration in the dermis of the intact skin on the border of the lesion also supported the presence of an autoimmune pathogenesis in vitiligo. First of all frequency of autoimmune thyroid diseases, pernicious anemia, diabetes mellitus and also Addison? s disease, autoimmune polyglandular syndrome were found to increase associeted with vitiligo in our study and the results were parallel with the literature. Also frequencies of other systemic or cutaneous diseases those can rarely be together with vitiligo were increased similarly. The presence of the mentioned associations is accepted as evidences of autoimmunity in vitiligo.