The month’s trivia question asked what is vitiligo. Vitiligo is a skin condition where you see white patches from loss of skin pigment. One to two of every 100 people are affected. Vitiligo is the result of the disappearance of the skin's melanocytes and no one really knows why this happens. Current theories include:
1. Abnormally functioning nerve cells may make toxic substances that injure melanocytes.
2. The body's immune system may destroy melanocytes. Researchers think pigment may be destroyed as the body responds to a substance it perceives as foreign.
3. Pigment-producing cells may self-destruct. While pigment is forming, toxic byproducts could be produced and destroy melanocytes.
4. There is a genetic defect that makes the melanocytes susceptible to injury.
The question, and answer, were found in the Gale Health & Wellness database. This database provides full text medical encyclopedias, nearly 400 health and medical journals, more than 800 pamphlets and nearly 2,100 health articles from general interest publications. The particular article referenced was:
Colby, Helen, PhD. "Vitiligo." The Gale Encyclopedia of Dermatology, edited by Lisa Kumar, vol. 2, Gale, 2017, pp. 771-774. Gale Health and Wellness.
Find the Gale Health & Wellness database on the library’s Research & Homework page under “G” and access it with your library card.
