Vitiligo By: linna and Haley(:<3 Vitiligo Defenition:(vit-ih-LI-go) is a condition in which your skin loses melanin, the pigment that determines the color of your skin, hair and eyes. Vitiligo occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or no longer form melanin, causing slowly enlarging white patches of irregular shapes to appear on your skin.

Vitiligo doesn’t single out anyone!!! Vitiligo affects all races, but may be more noticeable in people with darker skin. Vitiligo usually starts as small areas of pigment loss that spread with time. There is no cure for vitiligo. The goal of treatment is to stop or slow the progression of pigment loss and, if you desire, attempt to return some color to your skin.

Scientific Defenition: Vitiligo (pronounced vit-ill-EYE-go) is a pigmentation disorder in which melanocytes (the cells that make pigment) in the skin are destroyed. As a result, white patches appear on the skin in different parts of the body. Similar patches also appear on both the mucous membranes (tissues that line the inside of the mouth and nose) and the retina (inner layer of the eyeball). The hair that grows on areas affected by vitiligo sometimes turns white.

Causes of Vitiligo: The cause of vitiligo is not known, but doctors and researchers have several different theories. There is strong evidence that people with vitiligo inherit a group of three genes that make them susceptible to vitiligo. (1) The most widely accepted view is that the depigmentation occurs because vitiligo is an autoimmune disease -- a disease in which a person's immune system reacts against the body's own organs or tissues. (2)People's bodies produce proteins called cytokines that, in vitiligo, alter their pigment-producing cells and cause these cells to die. (3) Another theory is that melanocytes destroy themselves.

Worse Case Scenario: Symptoms: Would be partial or total loss of pigment of the skin. Symptoms: SymPigment loss that produces milky-white patches (depigmentation) on your skin Other less common signs may include: Premature whitening or graying of the hair on your scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows or beard Loss of color in the tissues that line the inside of your mouth (mucous membranes) Loss of or change in color of the inner layer of your eye (retina)

Source Documents http://www.medicinenet.com/vitiligo/article.htm http://www.google.com/imgres?q=vitiligo+worse&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&sa=N&biw=978&bih=774&tbm=isch&tbnid=NYQYsEczZyMMJM:&imgrefurl=http://www.mj-thevoice.com/english/michael_vitiligo_jeffrey_stanton_bell.htm&docid=swX_d5VhvOpk-M&w=202&h=208&ei=XBCOTrLxFISDsgKy4-zQAQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=118&vpy=484&dur=883&hovh=166&hovw=161&tx=77&ty=67&page=9&tbnh=120&tbnw=117&start=156&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:156&surl=1 http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Vitiligo/vitiligo_ff.asp

Three Fun Facts!!! Scientists have gained a better understanding of vitiligo in recent years, especially through gene research. Current research includes studies to investigate: How trauma or stress to the skin can trigger vitiligo or the development of new white patches New treatments and better understanding of vitiligo using a mouse model Genes that may cause or contribute to having vitiligo Analysis of genes already known to be linked to vitiligo. The white patches are more common where your skin is exposed to the sun. In some cases, the patches spread. Vitiligo can cause your hair to gray early. If you have dark skin, you may lose color inside your mouth. Vitiligo years. affects 0.5-2% of the world population, and the average age of onset is 20