Abstract
Background Vitiligo is a chronic depigmenting skin disease that has a prevalence of 0.5–2% of the population worldwide. Cytokines have a regulatory role in the immune response and depigmentation process in vitiligo. There is an imbalance of various types of cytokines in vitiligo patients. Interleukin-13 (IL-13) plays a role in many autoimmune diseases.Objective To measure the serum level of IL-13 in vitiligo patients and detect its correlation with disease severity.Patients and methods This is a case–control study including 20 randomly chosen patients with nonsegmental vitiligo and 20 healthy controls. Vitiligo disease activity score was assessed in all patients. Serum level of IL-13 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results This study revealed that the mean serum level of IL-13 was significantly higher in vitiligo patients, and there was negative correlation between serum level of IL-13 and vitiligo extent score but not statistically significant.Conclusion IL-13 might have a role in the pathogenesis of vitiligo and might play a protective role in the disease. Further large-scale studies are needed to confirm the definite role of IL-13 in vitiligo pathogenesis.
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