Clinical and immunological features of childhood vitiligo

Abstract

Objective To discuss the relationship between immunity and childhood vitiligo. Methods A questionnaire was designed to investigate the clinical characteristic of patients younger than 14 years with vi-tiligo and their relatives. The serum levels of immunoglobulin, complement and T-lymphocyte subsets were de-tected in 270 cases of pediatric vitiligo. Results A total of 620 patients were investigated. Of them, 302(48.71%) were boys and 318 (51.29% ) were girls, with a mean age of 8.81 years and mean onset age at 7.57years. The mean disease duration was 8.14 months. The involvement of head and neck was observed in 453(73.06%) children. Segmental vitiligo was diagnosed in 160 (25.81%) children. Spring and summer are predilected seasons of pediatric vitiligo. Halo nevi were found in 73 (11.77%) children,and most in those with scattered vitiligo. Family history was observed in 84 (13.55%) children. A significant decrease of serum C3 and C4 was observed in patients with segmental vitiligo in active phase compared with those in stable phase (P < 0.05). Similarly, the count of CD4+ and CD3+ lymphocytes in peripheral blood as well as the CD4+/CD8+ ratio were decreased in patients with vitiligo vulgaris in active phase compared with those in stable phase (P<0.01).Conclusion There is an abnormality in some immune parameters in children with vitiligo, which may be relat-ed to the immunologic derangement. Key words: Vitiligo; Monitoring,immunologic; Child