The Relation Between Vitiligo and Immune Function

Vitiligo occurs when melanin-forming 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. Etiology of the disease remains unclear. We found one of the cause is related to the immune system.

The immune mechanism play a very important role in developing process of vitiligo.

Sometimes vitiligo patients will combine other immunie disease. Such as the tyroid disease, and connective tissue disease, or autoimmune polyglandular syndrome autoimmune diseases.

With developing of immunology. The researcher pay more attention to relation between this both. Here are few manifestations between vitiligo and the immunity.

The vitiligo may combine the autoimmune disease, such as thyroid disease, diabetes, chronic adrenal function declined. Malignant anemia, rheumatic arthritis, malignant melanoma etc. we also can detect the specific antibodies from serum of multiple organs. Such as anti-thyroid antibodies, anti-parietal cell antibody, anti adrenal antibodies, anti-parathyroid gland antibodies, ant smooth muscle antibodies, anti-melanocyte antibody.

1) For a white patches called marginal uplift leukoplakia, we can see the lymphocytes or monounclear cells when we do the biopsy on boundaries of the white patches.Both of the cells related to the immunity function.

2) Researchers test the vitiligo patients blood, found there exist some of the anti-melancytes antibiotic, as well as some immunology index changes.

3) Vitiligo patients usually accompanied some autoimmune disease, such as Lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. For patients with the autoimmune disease have a higher rate than people without those disease.

Vitiligo patient have a higher rate of the isomorphic reaction, there are 127 cases which is 14.1% accompanied with isomorphic reaction induced by different factors. It cause white patches become more severe. Currently we think the isomorphic reaction belong to a kind of the autoimmune phenomenon.