Decreased choroidal thickness in vitiligo patients

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo is a disease characterized by depigmented macules and patches that occur as a result of the loss of functional melanocytes from the affected skin through a mechanism which has not been elucidated yet. Destruction of pigment cells in vitiligo may not remain limited to the skin; the eyelashes, iris, ciliary body, choroid, retinal pigment epithelium and meninges may also be affected. This study aims to compare the choroidal thickness of patients with and without vitiligo using optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) (Retina Scan Advanced RS-3000 NIDEK, Japan) instrument (with λ = 840 nm, 27,000 A-scans/second and 5 μm axial resolution) was used for the imaging. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0 software package. RESULTS: In all values except optic nevre area measurements, the choroidal thickness of all vitiligo patients was found out to be thinner compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: In vitiligo, the choroidal thickness may be affected by the loss of melanocytes.