• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.95-100
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• 2024

Vitiligo is a condition characterized by the destruction or dysfunction of melanin-producing cells in the skin, resulting in a loss of skin pigmentation. Facial vitiligo, specifically affecting the face, significantly impacts patients' appearance, thereby diminishing their quality of life. Evaluating the efficacy of facial vitiligo treatment typically relies on subjective assessments, such as the Facial Vitiligo Area Scoring Index (F-VASI), which can be time-consuming and subjective due to its reliance on clinical observations like lesion shape and distribution. Various machine learning and deep learning methods have been proposed for segmenting vitiligo areas in facial images, showing promising results. However, these methods often struggle to accurately segment vitiligo lesions irregularly distributed across the face. Therefore, our study introduces a framework aimed at improving the segmentation of vitiligo lesions on the face and providing an evaluation of vitiligo lesions. Our framework for facial vitiligo segmentation and lesion evaluation consists of three main steps. Firstly, we perform face detection to minimize background areas and identify the face area of interest using high-quality ultraviolet photographs. Secondly, we extract facial area masks and vitiligo lesion masks using a semantic segmentation network-based approach with the generated dataset. Thirdly, we automatically calculate the vitiligo area relative to the facial area. We evaluated the performance of facial and vitiligo lesion segmentation using an independent test dataset that was not included in the training and validation, showing excellent results. The framework proposed in this study can serve as a useful tool for evaluating the diagnosis and treatment efficacy of vitiligo.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.145-155
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• 2023

Objectives : The aim of this study is to review the effect of acupuncture/moxibustion on vitiligo. Methods : Using 5 databases(Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, RISS, OASIS) clinical studies about effect of acupuncture/moxibustion on vitiligo were searched. Only randomized controlled trials(RCTs) were selected to analyze. Results : Total 235 studies were searched. After screening those studies 5 studies were selected from china and Iran. 3 studies used effective rate to measure the effect of acupuncture for vitiligo. 1 study used Vitiligo Area Scoring Index(VASI) and 1 study assessed 4 grade of repigmentation to prove acupuncture's effect on vitiligo. All studies showed repigmentation in acupuncture/moxibustion group. Adverse effects reported in the five studies were temporary erythema, itching, and dryness. Conclusions : These findings suggest that acupuncture and moxibustion can be considered a safe treatment for vitiligo. However, due to the small number of RCTs conducted on acupuncture and moxibustion for vitiligo, more RCTs should be conducted to confirm the effectiveness of acupuncture and moxibustion for vitiligo.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.143-151
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• 2015

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of treatment of vitiligo patients in Korean Medicine Treatment. Methods : This case study was done on four vitiligo patients who had visited Korean Medicine Clinic. All the patients are treated with herbal medication and acupuncture treatment. Photographs were used to evaluate the symptom change. Results : Four vitiligo patients who were treated by Korean Medicine Treatment (herbal medication and acupuncture) showed efficient clinical results. Conclusion : Most symptoms of patients were improved in this study. Herbal medication and acupuncture treatment can be effective in patients who were diagnosed as Vitiligo.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.71-80
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• 2018

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical aspects of patients with Soyangin vitiligo. Methods : This clinical investigation was made with 148 Soyangin Vitiligo patients who visited Haneulmaeum Oriental Medicine Clinic (Incheon) from July 1st 2007 to June 30th 2017. Results & Conclusions : 1. There were 73 males(49.3%) and 75 females(50.7%). 2. The Mean age at the first visit was 36.1 years(male: 36.4, female: 35.8). 3. The Mean age of onset was 27.9 years(male: 28.6, female: 27.4). 4. The mean duration of the disease was 8.0 years(male: 7.8, female: 8.3). 5. Of the 148 patients, 41(27.7%) had the symmetric lesions and 107(72.3%) had the asymmetric vitiligo lesions. Of the patients with asymmetric vitiligo lesions, 46(31.1%) had the localized lesions and 26(17.6%) had the segmental lesions and 35(24.3%) had the multiple lesions. 6. The most common site of initial involvement of the vitiligo was the face (39.2%). 7. The most common site of the vitiligo lesions was the face(49.3%). 8. Familial history was obtained in 12 patients(8.1%). 9. There was no known precipitating factor in most cases(89.4%). 10. Thyroid disease was the most common associated disease. 11. The progression of vitiligo was present in 92 patients(62.2%).

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.648-654
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• 2023

Oxidative stress-induced melanocyte apoptosis is linked to the immune system and plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. Aquaporin-3 (AQP3), which is downregulated in vitiligo keratinocytes, regulates intracellular H₂O₂ accumulation. However, the role of AQP3 in oxidative stress is uncertain in vitiligo. This study investigated the effect of downregulated AQP3 on oxidative stress in vitiligo using lesional and non-lesional skin specimen sets from vitiligo patients and primary cultured adult normal human epidermal keratinocytes, with or without downregulation and overexpression of AQP3 in the presence or absence of H₂O₂ treatment. The levels of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and/or its main target, NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1 (NQO-1), were lower in the lesional keratinocytes and cultured keratinocytes with AQP3 knockdown, but were increased in keratinocytes upon AQP3 overexpression. Ratios of NRF2 nuclear translocation and NQO-1 expression levels were further reduced in AQP3-knockdown keratinocytes following H₂O₂ treatment. The conditioned media from AQP3-knockdown keratinocytes treated with H₂O₂ contained higher concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, the number of viable melanocytes was reduced when the conditioned media were added to the culture media. Overall, AQP3 downregulation in the keratinocytes of patients with vitiligo can induce oxidative stress in neighboring melanocytes, leading to melanocyte death.

• Korean journal of dermatology
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• v.56 no.10
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• pp.620-623
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• 2018

Vitiligo is a multifactorial disorder. Neural, biochemical, and autoimmune mechanisms have been hypothetically suggested as etiopathological contributors to this condition. Autoimmunity focuses primarily on genetic factors and the association between vitiligo and other autoimmune disorders including autoimmune thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes, pernicious anemia, and Addison's disease. We describe a 35-year-old man with systemic lupus erythematosus who developed concurrent vitiligo and discoid lupus erythematosus suggesting the possible autoimmune association between these 2 different diseases.

• Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.363-368
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• 2018

Background: Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the destruction of melanocytes causes white spots on the affected skin. Janus kinase (JAK) is a family of intracellular, non-receptor tyrosine kinases that transduce cytokine-mediated signals via the JAK-signal transducer and activator of transcription pathway. The aim of the present study is to explore the possible role of JAK1 in the pathogenesis of vitiligo using immunohistochemical methods. Methods: The current study was conducted in a sample of 39 patients who presented with vitiligo and 22 healthy individuals who were age and sex matched as a control group. We used immunohistochemistry to evaluate JAK1 status (intensity and distribution) and assess the percentage of residual melanocytes using human melanoma black 45 (HMB45). Results: Intense and diffuse JAK1 expression was significantly more likely to indicate vitiliginous skin compared to normal skin (p<.001). Strong and diffuse JAK1 expression was associated with short disease duration, female sex, and lower percentage of melanocytes (detected by HMB45) (p<.05). Conclusions: JAK1 may be involved in the pathogenesis of vitiligo, as indicated by intense and diffuse expression compared to control and association with lower percentage of melanocytes detected by HMB45 immunostaining.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.173-178
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• 2014

In this study, the new color image processing algorithms with an android-based mobile device are developed to detect the abnormal color densities in a skin image and interpret them as the vitiligo lesions. Our proposed method is firstly based on transforming RGB data into HSI domain and segmenting the imag into the vitiligo-skin candidates by applying Otsu's threshold algorithm. The structure elements for morphological image processing are suggested to delete the spurious regions in vitiligo regions and the image blob labeling algorithm is applied to compare RGB color densities of the abnormal skin region with them of a region of interest. Our suggested color image processing algorithms are implemented with an android-platform smartphone and thus a mobile device can be utilized to diagnose or monitor the patient's skin conditions under the environments of pervasive healthcare services.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.121-126
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• 2005

Vitiligo does not have a baneful influence on life and function of the body directly, but is a serious disease in that most patients suffer from difficulties in social life and considerable stress. We cured a vitiligo patient with a few depigmented patches in front of the left ear using aqua-acupuncture with hominis placenta and psoraleae fructus extract. Since this is just one case report, more case studies and research will be necessary.

• Annals of dermatology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.708-711
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• 2018

Although a few reports have noted the concurrent presentation of morphea and vitiligo at distinctly separate sites in the same patient, it is extremely rare that these two conditions occur at the same sites in a patient. We report the case of a 10-year-old Korean girl with morphea and vitiligo and those lesions occurred at the same sites and progressed simultaneously. An autoimmunity and a cutaneous mosaicism was considered to be involved in such an unique presentation as the pathogenesis is concerned.