GC: n

S: http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Vitiligo/vitiligo_ff.asp (last access: 22 March 2016); https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/color-problems/vitiligo (last access: 22 March 2016).

N: 1. 1650s, from Latin vitiligo “a kind of cutaneous eruption, tetter” (Celsus), perhaps with an original sense of “blemish,” from PIE *wi-tu-, from root *wei- “vice, fault, guilt”.
2. Etymology: L, vitium, blemish.
A benign acquired skin disease of unknown cause, consisting of irregular patches of various sizes totally lacking in pigment and often having hyperpigmented borders. The hypopigmented area is caused by loss of melanocytes. Exposed areas of skin are most often affected. Treatment using 8-methoxypsoralen requires extreme care and carefully regulated sun exposure. Some success has been achieved with the use of narrowband ultraviolet light and topical application of protopic. Waterproof, sun-protective cosmetics are often used to cover the patches. Compare albinism, piebald. vitiliginous, adj.
3. Vitiligo, also called leukoderma, hereditary patchy loss of melanin pigment from the skin. Though the pigment-making cells of the skin, or melanocytes, are structurally intact, they have lost the ability to synthesize the pigment. The reason for this condition is unclear. Vitiligo appears clinically as milk-white, irregularly oval patches of skin, which are small at the beginning but enlarge gradually. These patches are roughly symmetrical and are seen most commonly on the hands, wrists, face, neck, and upper trunk. The hair growing in the depigmented area is also white.
4. Cultural Interrelation: Vitiligo is that disease identified as the one which the legendary pop music star Michael Jackson, was suffering from.

S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=vitiligo (last access: 22 March 2016). 2. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/vitiligo – Mosby’s Medical Dictionary, 9th edition. © 2009, Elsevier (last access: 22 March 2016). 3. EncBrit – http://global.britannica.com/science/vitiligo (last access: 22 March 2016) (last access: 22 March 2016). 4. http://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/4388/20150317/michael-jacksons-skin-disorder-now-becoming-fashionable.htm (last access: 22 March 2016).

SYN: leukoderma

S: EncBrit – http://global.britannica.com/science/vitiligo (last access: 22 March 2016)

CR: leprosy