engleski

Vitiligo in Croatia: A Case Report

Vitiligo is an acquired, chronic, multifactorial disorder which involves complex interactions between genetic risk fac-tors and environmental triggers. It is characterized by scattered circumscribed depigmented macules and patches any-where on the skin that result from loss of functional melanocytes. According to our statistical data, 1.6% of the general population in Croatia suffers from vitiligo, but varies based on region. It affects all age groups equally, with female patients being more affected (53.95%) than male patients, and no difference in severity of vitiligo. We present a case of a sudden onset of vitiligo vulgaris from a female patient in her twenties, treated at the Department of Dermatology and Venereol-ogy. Her 12-year-old brother simultaneously developed acrofacial vitiligo, six months after their mother died in a car accident. She has been previously diagnosed with type I diabetes and autoimmune endocrinopathies. The depigmented patches covered approximately 60% of her body, with Koebner response on trauma. Although no characteristic UV fl uo-rescence was detected on the affected area, histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses revealed a complete loss of melanocytes, while Langerhans` and dermal dendritic cells replaced the DOPA-positive melanocytes. TSH levels were elevated, and the ultrasound showed thyroid enlargement, which substantiated for a hypothyroidism therapy. Treatment by systemic corticosteroids for a 6 month period was successful in stabilizing the disease.

pigmentation disorders ; melanocytes ; vitiligo ; case

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