Skin Condition Vitiligo Linked to Autoimmune Disorders

Vitiligo, a skin condition that is characterized by the loss of darker skin pigment and the appearance of white blotches upon the skin, has been linked to several genes that seem to confirm that the condition is indeed an autoimmune disorder.

Autoimmune disorders occur when the body’s immune system begins attacking itself. The immune system will attack healthy cells and the end result can be any number of 100+ disorders. Most of these disorders display similar symptoms. Vitiligo attacks melanocytes, the skin’s pigment producing cells. However, in a surprising discovery, researchers have found that those who have been diagnosed with vitiligo are at much lower risk of developing melanoma.Type I diabetes as well as rheumatoid arthritis share several genetic links with vitiligo.

Prashiela Manga, an assistant professor at New York University Langone Medical Center has expressed that proper research to identify the exact genes is vital in the development of treatments for the disorder.

Vitiligo is the same skin condition that caused pop star Michael Jackson to gradually lose the dark pigmentation of his skin. Vitiligo is typically first diagnosed in those between 20 and 25 years of age and is believed to affect approximately 2% of the total population.