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. 2019 Sep-Oct;37(5):561-579.
doi: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2019.07.018. Epub 2019 Jul 17.

The color of skin: white diseases of the skin, nails, and mucosa

Ashley E Brown  1 , Connie C Qiu  2 , Brandy Drozd  3 , Lindsay R Sklover  2 , Conor M Vickers  2 , Sylvia Hsu  4
Affiliations

The color of skin: white diseases of the skin, nails, and mucosa

Ashley E Brown et al. Clin Dermatol. 2019 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

White diseases are a heterogenous group characterized by hypopigmentation or depigmentation. Skin and eye color are determined by the number and size of melanosomes present. Melanin is produced by melanosomes in the melanocytes present within the epidermis of the skin, uvea, and retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE). Conditions altering the number of melanocytes or concentration of melanin result in a lack of pigmentation, appearing as "white diseases" ranging from the well-known albinism and vitiligo to more esoteric white hand syndrome and Degos disease.

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