Pathogenesis of Vitiligo and Its Prevention and Treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Vitiligo is a common pigmentary disorder characterized by localized or generalized depigmentation of the skin， resulting in milky white or light pink patches with smooth surface but no rashes.Modern medicine believes that it is closely related to immune function， oxidative stress， autoimmune destruction of melanocytes， heredity， and neurochemical factors， but the specific pathogenesis is still unclear.Due to the easy diagnosis but hard management and the high recurrence rate， vitiligo has seriously affected the quality of life and mental health of patients.At present， it is mainly treated with glucocorticoids， immunomodulators， vitamin D3 derivatives， and antioxidants in western medicine， and the resulting short-term outcomes are satisfactory.However， a series of side effects may be caused by the long-term use.Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has a long history of dealing with vitiligo.Guided by the rich experience accumulated in daily practice， it exerts the preventive and therapeutic effects against vitiligo via multiple components， multiple targets， and multiple pathways， without inducing obvious adverse reactions， which has made it widely concerned by many doctors and scholars.As the research concerning the prevention and treatment of vitiligo with TCM intensifies， more and more single Chinese medicinals， Chinese medicinal monomers， and compound prescriptions have been proved to play a therapeutic role via multiple mechanisms.After reviewing the articles on the alleviation of vitiligo with TCM published in the past five years and retrieved from the literature databases， this paper summarized the efficacy of TCM in regulating immune dysfunction， improving oxidative stress injury， protecting melanocyte function， adjusting mitochondrial structure and function， and controlling the alteration of intestinal micro-flora and abnormal microRNA （miRNA） expression， so as to clarify the pathogenesis of vitiligo and provide theoretical and scientific basis for the in-depth study and clinical application of TCM in the prevention and treatment of vitiligo.