WORCESTER (CBS) – Vitiligo is a common condition that causes people to lose pigment in their skin. Michael Jackson famously suffered from it, allegedly bleaching his skin to make it look more even.
Patients are often told there are no effective treatments but a local doctor and one of the world’s leading experts on vitiligo says that’s just not true.
“I noticed it around my eyes at the beginning,” explains 9-year old Aparna Deokar was almost three when she started developing white patches around her eyes. By the time she was five, she had many more.
“Mostly just everywhere like on my hands, my feet,” says Aparna.
Aparna was diagnosed with vitiligo, a common skin condition that affects 1 in 100 people. It occurs when a patient’s own immune system attacks and kills pigment-making cells in the skin called melanocytes.
It’s not dangerous, and it’s not contagious, but Aparna says it does draw attention.
“People ask me what’s that white thing on your skin,” Aparna explains. “So they don’t really mean to be mean, but they’re just curious about it.”
While Aparna has a positive attitude about her condition, for some it can be devastating.
“There are some patients who won’t leave their home because they have it,” says Dr. John Harris, Director of the Vitiligo Clinic and Research Center at UMass Medical School. “They’ll quit their jobs. They’ll stop socializing. They won’t go out during the day. They’ll only go out at night.”
Dr. Harris says vitiligo is reversible but patients with widespread involvement often need UV light therapy, but at wavelengths that don’t promote skin cancer.
