Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Mar 16, 2015; 3(3): 221-230
Published online Mar 16, 2015. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v3.i3.221
Highlights in pathogenesis of vitiligo
Ghada F Mohammed, Amal HA Gomaa, Mohammed Saleh Al-Dhubaibi
Ghada F Mohammed, Amal HA Gomaa, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41551, Egypt
Mohammed Saleh Al-Dhubaibi, Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah 52571, Saudi Arabia
Author contributions: All authors contributed to this work.
Conflict-of-interest: There are no conflicts of interest. There are no sponsors or fund for the research.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Ghada F Mohammed, MD, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, El Salam Distric, Ismailia 41511, Egypt. dr_ghada77@hotmail.com
Telephone: +20-11-12518631 Fax: +20-64-3208543
Received: September 27, 2014
Peer-review started: September 28, 2014
First decision: October 28, 2014
Revised: December 27, 2014
Accepted: January 9, 2015
Article in press: January 12, 2015
Published online: March 16, 2015
Processing time: 167 Days and 8.3 Hours
Abstract

Vitiligo is a common pigmentary disorder. Many studies across decades and all over the world have attempted to illustrate the pathogenesis behind it; however, the pathogenesis of vitiligo remains elusive. This review article, we present the findings behind the most and updated theories behind this psychologically debilitating and disfiguring disease. The discussion begun with the role of genetic predisposition followed by neural theory first proposed in the 1950s. We highlight the autoimmune hypothesis, followed by the reactive oxygen species model, zinc-α2-glycoprotein deficiency hypothesis, viral theory, intrinsic theory and biochemical, molecular and cellular alterations accounting for loss of functioning melanocytes in vitiligo. Many theories were elaborated to clarify vitiligo pathogenesis. It is a multifactorial disease involving the interplay of several factors. Future research is needed to clarify the interaction of these factors for better understanding of vitiligo pathogenesis and subsequent successful treatment.

Keywords: Etiopathogenesis; Pigmentary disorder; Non-segmental vitiligo; Segmental vitiligo; Vitiligo

Core tip: The pathogenesis of vitiligo elaborated by several theory. Future research needed to clarify the interaction of these factors for better understanding of vitiligo pathogenesis and subsequent successful treatment.