Description

Vitiligo is a disease that causes the loss of skin color in blotches. The extent and rate of color loss from vitiligo is unpredictable. It can affect the skin on any part of your body. It may also affect hair, the inside of the mouth, and even the eyes.

Normally, the color of hair, skin, and eyes is determined by melanin. Vitiligo occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or stop functioning.

Patient Groups

National Vitiligo Foundation Inc.
The American Vitiligo Foundation
The Vitiligo Society
Vitiligo Research Foundation

Prevalence

US cases: 320,000 - 640,000 [Zhang 2016].

Typical Age of onset

20 

Symptoms

• Skin discoloration

• Premature whitening or graying of the hair on your scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows or beard (usually before age 35)

• Loss of color in the tissues that line the inside of your mouth and nose (mucous membranes)

• Loss of or change in color of the inner layer of the eyeball (retina)

• Discolored patches around the armpits, navel, genitals and rectum

Resources

Link to Clinical Trials

Link to Scientific Publications

References

Mayo Clinic
MedScape
WebMD

Updated January 2023