Will my vitiligo get worse? That is a question that I get often when speaking to a customer on the phone. It’s a scary question because you don’t want to hear that the vitiligo will spread to new areas on your body. The one thing I’ve gleaned from many of these conversations over the past 15 years is that those who notice their vitiligo spread quickly, it has happened relatively fast. And those who have noticed a spot here and a spot there over months or years, experience a slow progression throughout the years. In both cases, Vitiligo Cover lotion blends the areas with your natural skin tone so it is less noticeable and can help with vitiligo on face.
Today I read an article about a test being studied to predict the onset and worsening of vitiligo. Frankly, I wouldn’t want to know that vitiligo may begin- I just don’t see the point. But after reading through their results of the study I found that they will take the knowledge learned in predicting vitiligo into the arena of finding a cure, and that I find very exciting.
Here is a synopsis of the article:
A recent study conducted at the Ghent University Hospital Department of Dermatology, in Ghent, Belgium looked at two specific biomarkers associated with other autoimmune disorders connected to vitiligo to determine if they could help predict vitiligo activity and progression:
Soluble CD27 (sCD27) is a protein associated with immune system cells, including the T-cells that target the melanocytes in those with vitiligo. Blood levels of sCD27 have been shown to be elevated in systemic lupus erythematosus and celiac disease, both of which are also associated with vitiligo.
Soluble CD25 (sCD25) is another protein important in T-cell development
The study looked at 93 patients with vitiligo who were either not treating their vitiligo or were using topical therapies such as corticosteroids, tacrolimus, and/or pimecrolimus.
Each participant completed a survey to describe whether their vitiligo was active (spreading), stable (no activity), or repigmenting, during the previous 3, 6, or 12 months.
After looking at the surveys and examining the patients, the doctors placed the participants into one of three categories:
- Active (worsening of pigment loss)
- Stable (no pigment loss activity)
- Repigmenting
Blood levels were tested for the sCD27 and sCD25 biomarkers.
Below are the testing results:
- This study seeks to find a biomarker for disease activity in vitiligo. Soluble CD27 (sCD27), sCD25, and sCD40L levels were evaluated. Elevated sCD27 and sCD25 levels were associated with disease activity in the past year and with active vitiligo. Additionally, sCD27 was associated with future disease progression. Of interest, levels of sCD27 were lower in patients with clear repigmentation. Higher sCD40L levels were observed in patients with active disease but less elevated compared with sCD27 and sCD25. In vitro experiments showed enhanced sCD25 levels in patients with vitiligo and that sCD25 release was associated with interferon gamma.
- This study suggests that sCD27 and sCD25 may prove to be useful biomarkers for disease activity in vitiligo.