STUDIES ON CYTOMEGALOVIRUS INFECTION AND ANTINUCLEAR ANTIBODY AMONG VITILIGO PATIENTS IN AHWAZ IRAN

Recently, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, the DNA of cytomegalovirus was detected from depigmented white patches in patients with vitiligo. The reactivation of infection and occasional anti-CMV IgM circulating among patients infected by cytomegalovirus has been reported for years. We have studied 26 patients with clinical signs and symptoms of vitiligo, some of whom had a history of disease for years. Of these patients, 7 cases (26.92%) showed positive for anti-CMV IgM, indicating the presence of cytomegalovirus infection among vitiligo patients which differed significantly from control subjects (p<O.OOOI). Of these 7 patients positive for anti-CMV IgM, 6 cases (85.71 %) were also positive for antinuclear antibody (ANA). On the other hand, from among the 19 cases negative for anti-CMV IgM, 7 cases (36.84%) were positive for antinuclear antibody (ANA), so the difference was statistically significant (p<O.05). The prevalence of anti-CMV IgM was higher among the active vitiligo patients than those with stable vitiligo (p<0.02).