TLDR People with first-time vitiligo have lower levels of a certain brain protein compared to healthy individuals.
In the 2014 study, researchers found that serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were significantly lower in 57 patients with first onset vitiligo (1.57±0.97 ng/dL) compared to 58 age and sex-matched healthy subjects (2.37±1.73 ng/dL). The study suggested that the reduced BDNF levels might be related to the etiology of vitiligo or a biological predisposition to psychiatric disorders in the vitiligo patient population. This was the first study to compare serum BDNF levels between these two groups, indicating the need for further research to confirm these preliminary findings.
Cited in this study
6 / 6 results
10 citations
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532 citations
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99 citations
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