Authors : N G Praneeth, A Vijaya Mohan Rao, Pravallika Thalluri, K Ramalingam, Prasad Naidu
DOI : 10.18231/j.ijced.2019.062
Volume : 5
Issue : 4
Year : 2019
Page No : 295-298
Introduction: Vitiligo is characterized by complete loss of ultraviolet (UV) protective pigment producing
cells melanocytes. Due to the appearance of white depigmented patches causing ugly look, the disease,
the through not life threatening, could be psychologically debilitating. Despite the demonstration of the
presence of mild inflammatory infiltrate in the skin paralleling the loss of melanocytes, vitiligo is not an
inflammatory dermatoses.
Materials and Methods: The study comprised 30 Vitiligo patients, both males and females, of age
between 10-80 years. The patients were randomly selected from the outpatient clinic of Dermatology,
Venereology and Leprosy Department, Narayana medical college and hospital. Cu, Zn and Se were
estimated by using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry.
Results: In vitiligo patients the level of serum zinc were diminished while the level of serum copper, and
selenium were increased. These changes were significantly evident in severe Vitiligo (P<0> Conclusion: Recent studies on the role of trace elements in the etiopathogenesis and treatment of Vitiligo
have shown controversial findings and are still limited. More studies are required to clarify the importance
of these findings in etiopathogenesis or treatment.
Keywords: Copper, Zinc, Selenium and Vitiligo.