Vitiligo: Pathogenesis, clinical variants and treatment approaches

Giannicola Iannella; Antonio Greco; Dario Didona; Biagio Didona; Guido Granata; Alessandra Manno; Benedetta Pasquariello; Giuseppe Magliulo

doi:10.1016/j.autrev.2015.12.006

Vitiligo: Pathogenesis, clinical variants and treatment approaches

Autoimmun Rev. 2016 Apr;15(4):335-43. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2015.12.006. Epub 2015 Dec 23.

Authors

Giannicola Iannella¹, Antonio Greco², Dario Didona³, Biagio Didona⁴, Guido Granata⁵, Alessandra Manno⁶, Benedetta Pasquariello⁷, Giuseppe Magliulo⁸

Affiliations

¹ Organi di Senso Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 151, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: giannicolaiannella@hotmail.it.
² Organi di Senso Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 151, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: antonio.greco@uniroma1.it.
³ First Dermatology Division, Institute Dermopatico dell'Immacolata (I.D.I.) - IRCCS, Via Monti di Creta 104, 00167 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: dario.didona@gmail.com.
⁴ First Dermatology Division, Institute Dermopatico dell'Immacolata (I.D.I.) - IRCCS, Via Monti di Creta 104, 00167 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: b.didona@idi.it.
⁵ Department of Clinical Immunology, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell'Università 37, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: guido.granata@alice.it.
⁶ Organi di Senso Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 151, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: alessandramanno@hotmail.it.
⁷ Organi di Senso Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 151, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: benedetta.pasquariello@gmail.com.
⁸ Organi di Senso Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 151, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: giuseppemagliuloorl@yahoo.com.

PMID: 26724277
DOI: 10.1016/j.autrev.2015.12.006

Abstract

Vitiligo is a common chronic acquired disease of pigmentation whose etiology is unknown, which usually occurs with asymptomatic whitish patch or macule. Although several hypotheses have been proposed in the literature, the leading theory is still the auto-immune etiology linked to specific genetic mutations. Vitiligo can also be associated with several autoimmune diseases, including autoimmune thyroid diseases, alopecia areata, and halo nevi. Sensorineural hearing loss was reported in several vitiligo patients due to a reduction in the number of melanocytes contained in the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear. Because of its complexity, several therapeutic options are available to treat this systemic disease.

Keywords: Autoimmune diseases; Hearing loss; NB-UVB; Oxidative stress; Prednisolone; Vitiligo.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Autoimmune Diseases / complications
Autoimmune Diseases / immunology
Diagnosis, Differential
Hearing Disorders
Humans
Melanocytes / pathology
Vitiligo / diagnosis
Vitiligo / immunology*
Vitiligo / pathology
Vitiligo / therapy