Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Dermatology and Venerology

Background:The exact cause of vitiligo remains unclear, several theories have been proposed including the autoimmune and neuroendocrine theories. Prolactin has been studied as an immunomodulatory factor in several autoimmune diseases. In the terms of vitiligo, previous studies revealed contradictory results. Aim of the work: To measure the level of serum and tissue prolactin as well as prolactin receptor expression in vitiligo, in an attempt to verify their possible role in its pathogenesis. Patients and methods: A case control study was conducted on 40 subjects; 20 patients with vitiligo and 20 age, sex and skin type matched healthy controls. Blood samples were taken from them to determine the serum prolactin level (ng/ml). Skin biopsies were obtained from the lesional skin of patients and normal skin of controls to determine the level of tissue prolactin(ng/mg) as well as prolactin receptor expression (ng/gm)

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