MJJLaugh
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What is Vitiligo ?
Vitiligo is a disorder that causes white patches of skin to appear anywhere on the body. This happens when the pigment producing cells in the skin, the melanocytes, are destroyed. The patches can develop and increase very rapidly or they can stay the same for long periods of time. Melanocytes protect a person, to a certain extent, from sunburn by producing melatonin. The vitiligous white patches of skin offer no protection at all against the sun.
What causes Vitiligo ?
The cause is not known. It is thought to be a genetic auto-immune disease. Auto-immune diseases are characterized as such when the body attacks its own cells. Researchers believe that a single event that causes emotional distress can cause vitiligo.
How is Vitiligo treated ?
The treatment of vitiligo depends on the number of white patches, how widespread the patches are and the treatment the person prefers to use:
- Cosmetics, such as make up to even out the patches
- medicines, such as steroid cremes, to be applied to the skin to get a more even skin tone
- surgical, such as skin grafts from a person's own tissues or tattooing
- sunscreens
- counselling and support, as understandably, vitiligo can have a devastating emotional and psychological impact
Discoid Lupus
http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/weba...239&zoneid=524
Another classic rash found in cutaneous lupus is the discoid rash. This rash is coin-shaped or oval in shape, like a disk and it is seen on areas of the skin that are exposed to sunlight. Discoid lesions (sores) tend to be red and raised and become scaly. When they heal they can leave behind a scar. These rashes can also result in a change in coloring of the skin, making the area around the lesion either lighter or darker in color. These discoid lesions may appear on the scalp; on the face in a butterfly distribution; or, as mentioned earlier, in areas where the skin receives sun exposure, especially, for example, the V of the neck. Discoid lupus erythematosus (LE) lesions are usually painless and typically do not itch. Here is one example of what a discoid rash may look like. (Photo source: Dermatology Information System, Dermis.net)
Michael's Vitiligo
"MTV's "Weekend at Neverland Contest", wrote in USA Today on June 23, 1993, "[Jackson] is in makeup, but it is evident that his disclosure of a skin-lightening disease seems credible. Darker spots are apparent on a hand and around an ear." It is doubtful that if Michael's goal were to have white skin, he would allow these blotches to remain, especially since complete depigmentation is a treatment alternative for vitiligo patients. Finally, some well-known MJ trademarks are characteristic of vitiligo sufferers, including wearing wide-brimmed hats, long-sleeved shirts, and long pants and carrying an umbrella to protect against the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight.
The pictures in Black & White and Nations of Magic reveal the reason that MJ uses light rather than dark makeup to conceal his uneven pigmentation. They indicate that MJ has lost as much as 80% of his pigment to the disorder, making the use of dark makeup impractical.
More information about vitiligo can be found on the Biography page and at:
http://goofy.ti6.tu-harburg.de/vitiligo/
Michael Jackson Wasn't the Only Black Man "Turning White"
By Eddie B. Allen Jr.
Jul. 13, 2009
Black TV anchor turning white on air..
Insensitive comments about the condition that has affected him for 16 years hit Lee Thomas way beyond skin deep.
So the Emmy-winning Fox TV reporter and author of the book "Turning White: A Memoir of Change," who struggles with vitiligo, is even more outspoken since singer Michael Jackson's death. The same skin condition that Jackson first told the public he endured in a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey has gradually turned Thomas' rich, brown complexion into a pattern of bright splotches on various parts of his body. A debate about vitiligo and its effects has been re-ignited in the wake of Jackson's passing and media focusing on his non-Black children.
"Everywhere, I get that question: Do you really think that he had vitiligo?" says Thomas, who publicly speaks about the disease between covering entertainment news on a weekday morning show. "In his death, hopefully more people will understand that yes, he had a disease that turned his skin white."
Over 5 million Google hits registered from a Web search of the word "vitiligo" barely 48 hours after Jackson's televised funeral. About 1 percent of the world's population suffers from the condition, which has an undetermined cause and affects all races, including Whites. Vitiligo attacks pigment and breaks down the skin's natural color. Curiosity about the condition is understandable, says Thomas, but he adds that skepticism and ignorance can be hurtful. He recently challenged Jackson's legendary friend Quincy Jones after Jones dismissed Jackson's previous statements that he was a "proud Black American," saying Jackson wanted to be White. A statement from Thomas released through his publicist read in part: "I respect everything that Quincy Jones has done as an entertainer and producer, but I am very disappointed that a man so accomplished couldn't look up the disease or, even better, take his friend’s word. I have this disease and the reality of it is, I am turning White, and believe me, that is not by choice.”
Apart from a revealing, personal segment that discussed his battle with viewers of his home station in Detroit, Thomas has appeared on major TV shows including "20/20" and "Larry King Live." Before going on-air each day, he undergoes an extensive makeup process to cover the areas of his face and neck that have been discolored. He says that various medical treatments have had no lasting effect. But Thomas joined other sufferers of the disease who've put the question of genetics in doubt when he had a daughter last year, who shows no symptoms.
Suggestions that Jackson never had vitiligo because his skin was uniformly light, rather than splotched, aren't necessarily so, Thomas says; in fact, it's been reported that Jackson's famous glove was first worn to cover discoloring on his hand.
"There are a lot of people outside of Michael Jackson, who have (turned uniformly lighter)," Thomas says. "You probably saw someone who had really light skin and just never knew it."
But the various manifestations of vitiligo are less important than how its sufferers are received and perceived, Thomas says.
