Vitiligo
Segmental versus nonsegmental vitiligo, signs of activity, autoimmune associations and thyroid screening, the mimics (including leprosy), topical steroids and calcineurin inhibitors, phototherapy, ruxolitinib cream and the 2026 oral JAK inhibitor trials.
Tier 1Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- An acquired autoimmune loss of melanocytes causing sharply defined, chalk-white macules. It affects about 0.5 to 2% of people, half before age 20.
- Nonsegmental vitiligo is symmetric, progressive and linked to other autoimmune disease. Segmental vitiligo is unilateral, stabilises early and responds best to grafting.
- Check thyroid function and antibodies. Look for signs of activity because they change treatment.
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Sources
- Therapeutic Guidelines: Dermatology (vitiligo)AU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Limited (eTG complete), current online edition (topic version not verified)
- Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, ruxolitinib listings (no vitiligo indication)AU/NZAustralian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, November 2026 schedule
- British Association of Dermatologists guidelines for the management of people with vitiligo 2021 (Eleftheriadou V et al. Br J Dermatol 2022;186:18-29)British Association of Dermatologists, 2021 (published 2022)
- Canadian Consensus Guidelines for the Management of Vitiligo (Prajapati VH et al. Dermatol Ther 2025;15:1351-69)Dermatology and Therapy, 2025
- Definition of severity and relapse for vitiligo: an international consensus statement (Eleftheriadou V et al. JAMA Dermatol 2026;162:515-24)JAMA Dermatology, 2026
- Rosmarin D et al. Two phase 3, randomized, controlled trials of ruxolitinib cream for vitiligo (TRuE-V1 and TRuE-V2). N Engl J Med 2022;387:1445-55New England Journal of Medicine, 2022
- Passeron T et al. Upadacitinib in adults and adolescents with non-segmental vitiligo (Viti-Up): two phase 3 randomised controlled studies. Lancet 2026;408:636-48The Lancet, 2026
- Ezzedine K et al. Povorcitinib for nonsegmental vitiligo: two randomized, controlled, phase 3 STOP-V trials. Nat Med 2026Nature Medicine, 2026
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Deploy to Cloudflare on push to main