A REVIEW ON IMMUNOPATHOGENESIS OF VTILIGO

Vitiligo is an acquired depigmenting disease of the skin and mucosa caused due to the destruction of the melanocytes. The white patch leads to social stigma in society and psychological stress in vitiligo patients. The etiopathogenesis of vitiligo is complex interplay of multiple genetic risk factors, environmental factors, neural factors, auto cytotoxicity, oxidative stress by reactive oxygen species, immunological factors, anti-melanocytes and organ-specific auto-antibodies mediated by autoreactive T lymphocytes in a genetically susceptible person. Hence, it is termed polygenic and multifactorial. All these factors, either alone or mixed leads to melanocytes death in a susceptible person leading to formation of depigmented patch. This review is an overview of the different pathomechanism involved in vitiligo.