Autoantibodies in Vitiligo

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Abstract
To the Editor.— The association of vitiligo with a number of organspecific autoimmune disorders, such as pernicious anemia,1hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism,2Addison disease,3and diabetes mellitus4is well known. An increased incidence of organ-specific antibodies was reported in patients with vitiligo,5,6but, more recently, no statistically significant incidence of autoantibodies was found in vitiligo patients.7 One of the difficulties in accepting an autoimmune form of vitiligo has been the absence of circulating antimelanocyte antibodies; only Von Langhof et al8found an "antimelanin antibody" in serum samples from patients with vitiligo, but their report was not confirmed.7Antibodies against the cytoplasm of malignant melanoma cells have been found in cases of vitiligo associated with resolving halo nevus, but not in isolated vitiligo.9 We here report our attempts to demonstrate a specific antimelanocyte antibody in sera of patients with vitiligo. Patients and Methods.—

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