Vitiligo may be an example of an autoimmune disease triggered by viral infection in a genetically predisposed host.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease and vaccines have been associated to various skin reactions, which are mostly similar amongst them. New onset of vitiligo and hypopigmentations have been described following COVID-19 vaccination, but never after COVID-19 infection.
Known vitiligo triggers include: A severe sunburn. Injured skin (cut, scrape, burn) Getting a strong chemical like phenol on your skin.
Scientists believe that vitiligo is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks and destroys the melanocytes. In addition, researchers continue to study how family history and genes may play a role in causing vitiligo.
Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease of the skin, which means that someone with vitiligo has an immune system that is malfunctioning in a small way. The normal role of the immune system is to protect you from infections and cancer.
Vitiligo is a common pigmentary disorder caused by the destruction of functional melanocytes. Vitamin D is an essential hormone synthesized in the skin and is responsible for skin pigmentation. Low levels of vitamin D have been observed in vitiligo patients and in patients with other autoimmune diseases.
Vitiligo is associated with other autoimmune diseases: Addison disease (disorder that occurs when the adrenal glands do not produce enough hormones) Thyroid disease. Pernicious anemia (decrease in red blood cells that occurs when the intestines cannot properly absorb vitamin B12)
About 15 to 25 percent of people with vitiligo are also affected by at least one other autoimmune disorder, particularly autoimmune thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, psoriasis , pernicious anemia, Addison disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, or ulcerative colitis ...
SARS-CoV-2 infection-associated vitiligo
In fact, immune activation during COVID-19 disease might increase vitiligo disease activity through a shift toward adaptive type 1 immunity (CD8 T cells and IFNγ).
In particular, vitiligo is present within the autoimmune polyendocrine syndromes (51), and it is more frequently encountered in family members of patients affected by autoimmune diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, pernicious ...
Environmental circumstances, such as stress, a bad sunburn, skin trauma, or exposure to a strong chemical, seem to prompt vitiligo development in people who are genetically predisposed to the condition. Triggers may also cause existing vitiligo patches to spread or progress in people who already have the condition.
Conclusion: some hormonal indicators have a role in pathogenesis of vitiligo where their disturbance leads to melanocyte destruction and/or depigmentation. Vitiligo is an idiopathic disorder of skin and hair characterized by melanin loss.
Pityriasis versicolor can sometimes be confused with vitiligo, as they both cause the skin to become discoloured in patches. But there are ways to tell the difference: vitiligo often develops symmetrically (on both sides of your body at the same time), while pityriasis versicolor may not.
There have been two previous case reports that have also indicated a temporal association between the COVID-19 vaccine and the development of new-onset vitiligo; one occurring in a 58-year-old man with a prior history of ulcerative colitis following the Pfizer vaccine and another occurring in a 61-year-old woman ...
Some wonder if the overactive nature of the immune response due to vitiligo will cause additional side effects to the vaccine, but it is unlikely because it's not the entire immune system that is hyperactive, just a small portion responsible for killing the pigment cells.
Rashes can last for weeks while you are recovering from COVID. A large and itchy rash with tiny lumps and blisters can occur either during COVID or weeks later. This can last for weeks while you are recovering and if it is an issue, treatment with moisturising or steroid creams can help.
The one significant observation that we found to have the poor prognostic implication in vitiligo is the presence of mucosal vitiligo.
Acute hemolytic anemia, macrophage activating syndrome, Kawasaki‐like disease, Guillain‐Barre syndrome (GBS), Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS), autoimmune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, autoimmune skin manifestations, and detection of autoantibodies are some of the pieces of evidence pointing to the potential ...
Vitiligo is an under-recognized organ-specific autoimmune disease of the skin that results from cytotoxic T cell-mediated attack on melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells in the epidermis (18). The result is the loss of pigment in the skin, visible as white spots (Fig. 1) (19).
If you have one, you are more likely to get the other. But they are two different diseases with two different treatments. Most people who have one will never develop the other.
As non-segmental vitiligo is closely associated with other autoimmune conditions, you may be assessed to see whether you have any symptoms that could suggest an autoimmune condition, such as: being tired and lacking energy (signs of Addison's disease) being thirsty and needing to urinate often (signs of diabetes)
Disease Overview
The most noticeable symptom is a rapid loss of vision. There may also be neurological signs such as severe headache, vertigo, nausea, and drowsiness. Loss of hearing, and loss of hair (alopecia) and skin color may occur along, with whitening (loss of pigmentation) of the hair and eyelashes (poliosis).
"Vitiligo is becoming more and more common in our offices, given the recent increase in media exposure, [because] many people didn't know exactly what they had,” New York City-based and board-certified dermatologist Dhaval Bhanusali told Allure in 2019.