BACKGROUND The survival and growth of melanocytes are controlled by the binding of stem cell factor to its cell surface receptor c-kit+ (CD117). We have observed that c-kit+ melanocytes existed in some lesions of vitiligo, while Melan A+ cells were absent. OBJECTIVE To verify possible relation between c-kit+ expression and treatment response in non-segmental vitiligo lesions. METHODS Skin b...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Vitiligo is a depigmentation disorder, which results in substantial cosmetic disfigurement and poses a detriment to patients' physical as well as mental. Now the molecular pathogenesis of vitiligo still remains unclear, which leads to a daunting challenge for vitiligo therapy in modern medicine. Herbal medicines, characterized by multi-compound and multi-target, h...

In vitiligo, melanocytes are particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress owing to the pro-oxidant state generated during melanin synthesis and to the genetic antioxidant defects. Autophagy is a controlled self-digestion process which can protect cells against oxidative damage. However, the exact role of autophagy in vitiligo melanocytes in response to oxidative stress and the mechanism involved...

The aim of our study was to analyze the results obtained with the ReCell system for surgical treatment of stable vitiligo. At Department of Plastic and Reconstructive surgery, University of Tor Vergata in Rome, we treated 15 patients with stable vitiligo during a 2-year period. The stability of vitiligo lesions varied between 1 and 4 years. The mean stability was 2.25. The disease activity acco...

BACKGROUND Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary cutaneous disease, characterised by the progressive loss of melanocytes, resulting in hypopigmented skin areas which progressively become amelanotic. Classically, vitiligo treatments are unsatisfactory and challenging. Despite the continuous introduction of new therapies, phototherapy is still the mainstay for vitiligo repigmentation. AIM The aim ...

Vitiligo is an acquired disorder characterized by depigmented macules on skin, hair, and mucosa. Its prevalence worldwide is 0.1-2% and varies from country to country.1 It is associated with high psychiatric morbidity and dysfunction, particularly in darker skin types where the contrast between normal and depigmented skin is highly pronounced.2,3 The usual approach to the treatment of vitiligo ...

Treatment of vitiligo can sometimes be difficult and disappointing. PUVA treatments give fairly good results. However, acral regions like the hands or feet or areas over bony prominences like the elbow, are resistant to PUVA. Blister-induced epidermal grafts have been used to repigment vitiligo skin. This study was carried out on patients with vitiligo areas unresponsive to either PUVA treatmen...