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Vitiligo is a skin disorder characterized by white patches on various parts of the body, including the retina and mucous membranes, due to the destruction of melanocytes. The individual may experience premature graying of the hair. The areas most commonly affected are the face, feet, hands, arms, lips, armpits, groin, eyes, navel, and genitals.

Vitiligo can appear in three patterns, the most common being generalized, which is when the white patches are symmetric on both sides of the body and may spread slowly or rapidly. The other patterns, which do not spread, are the focal pattern (white patches on one to a few areas) and segmental pattern (white patches on one side of the body only).

Up to one percent of the world's population suffers from Vitiligo. It affects males and females of all races. Most affected individuals will develop it before the age of forty, but some shows signs as early as age ten. Those who suffer from autoimmune illnesses such as pernicious anemia, hypothyroidism, alopecia areata, or adrenocortical insufficiency seem more susceptible to Vitiligo.

The exact cause of Vitiligo is still unknown. Thirty percent of those who have Vitiligo share the disorder with another family member so the genetic factor has not been ruled out. Melanocytes may destroy themselves in the affected individual or it may develop because Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease. If that theory is correct, cells that produce pigment die because of the creation of cytokines in the body.

To diagnose Vitiligo, a physical exam, medical history report, and tests (such as a biopsy, blood tests, and/or eye exam) are normally required.

Treatment for Vitiligo, including medical and surgical therapies, can take up to eighteen months to complete. Treatment is prescribed on a case-to-case basis as each individual responds differently to each form of therapy. Depending on the size, location, number, and pattern of the white patches, the severity of the individual's disorder will be assessed and a therapy chosen by a medical doctor.

The most common medical therapies are topical steroid therapy, psoralen photochemotherapy, topical psoralen photochemotherapy, oral psoralen photochemotherapy, and depigmentation.

Topical steroid therapy is used at the initial stages of Vitiligo by applying a steroid cream to the white patches for at least three months. This is the safest but most ineffective form of therapy. Side effects include skin shrinkage and skin striae (lines on the skin).

Psoralen photochemotherapy

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