Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease with the skin melanocyte cells being the immune target. The result is poor skin pigmentation (hypopigmentation.) The melanocyte cells are especially sensitive to immune attack. They contain the free radical scavenging molecule, melanin, and other molecules which are the targets of immune attack in melanoma skin cancer and vitiligo.

More knowledge of immune reactions to melanocytes in vitiligo provides information which can be helpful in developing treatments for patients with melanoma cancer.

CONCLUSION: Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease with the attack concentrating on the melanocytes, containing melanin and other molecules. The information learned about vitiligo is thought to be of benefit in furthering the development of immune treatments of melanoma.

NOTE: Unfortunately, the full article is not available at this time. This summary gives only information given in the author’s abstract.

Read about the association of vitiligo with thyroid autoimmunity. Read about the risk of proton pump inhibitors in vitiligo.

Autoimmune disease can be treated with dopamine agonists, such as Vitex, phenylalanine and tyrosine and by 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors, such as Boswellia serrata.

To read the author’s abstract of the article click on the link to the author’s title of the article above.

PMID: 18460889.

Summary #355.