vitiligo

vitiligo is a topic covered in the Taber's Medical Dictionary.

To view the entire topic, please or .

Nursing Central is an award-winning, complete mobile solution for nurses and students. Look up information on diseases, tests, and procedures; then consult the database with 5,000+ drugs or refer to 65,000+ dictionary terms. Explore these free sample topics:

-- The first section of this topic is shown below --

(vĭt-ĭl-ī′gō)

To hear audio pronunciation of this topic, purchase a subscription or log in.

[L.]
A skin disorder characterized by the localized loss of melanocytes, with patchy loss of skin pigment. The depigmented areas, which appear most commonly on the hands, face, and genital region, are flat and pale and surrounded by normal pigmentation. Vitiligo affects all ages and races but is most noticeable in people with dark skin. The cause is unknown, but may be an autoimmune process because autoantibodies to melanocytes have been identified and vitiligo often occurs with autoimmune diseases.
SYN: SEE: leukoderma; SEE: piebald skin.
Descriptive text is not available for this image

VITILIGO

TREATMENT
Oral and topical synthetic trioxsalen and a natural psoralen, methoxsalen, are used with exposure to long-wave ultraviolet light, but the efficacy is doubtful. The lesions may be masked by use of cosmetic preparations. Vitiliginous areas should be protected from sunburn by applying a 5% aminobenzoic acid solution or gel to the affected areas. The use of 5% fluorouracil cream applied under an occlusive dressing to the depigmented areas may cause erosion of the dermis and, after re-epithelialization, pigment may reappear.

Descriptive text is not available for this image

VITILIGO

-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please or --

(vĭt-ĭl-ī′gō)

To hear audio pronunciation of this topic, purchase a subscription or log in.

[L.]
A skin disorder characterized by the localized loss of melanocytes, with patchy loss of skin pigment. The depigmented areas, which appear most commonly on the hands, face, and genital region, are flat and pale and surrounded by normal pigmentation. Vitiligo affects all ages and races but is most noticeable in people with dark skin. The cause is unknown, but may be an autoimmune process because autoantibodies to melanocytes have been identified and vitiligo often occurs with autoimmune diseases.
SYN: SEE: leukoderma; SEE: piebald skin.
Descriptive text is not available for this image

VITILIGO

TREATMENT
Oral and topical synthetic trioxsalen and a natural psoralen, methoxsalen, are used with exposure to long-wave ultraviolet light, but the efficacy is doubtful. The lesions may be masked by use of cosmetic preparations. Vitiliginous areas should be protected from sunburn by applying a 5% aminobenzoic acid solution or gel to the affected areas. The use of 5% fluorouracil cream applied under an occlusive dressing to the depigmented areas may cause erosion of the dermis and, after re-epithelialization, pigment may reappear.

Descriptive text is not available for this image

VITILIGO

There's more to see -- the rest of this entry is available only to subscribers.