Understanding The Symptoms Of Vitiligo

Premature Gray Hair

Premature gray hair is a term used to describe when a Caucasian individual develops graying of the hair before twenty years old, and when an African American individual develops graying of the hair before thirty years old. Human hair has color to it because of a pigment called melanin, which is produced by special cells referred to as melanocytes. An individual affected by vitiligo has melanocytes that are overly sensitive to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is when the level of free radicals and the level of antioxidants in an individual's body become unbalanced. Free radicals are molecules characterized by an uneven number of electrons, which allow it to react with other molecules too easily. These highly reactive molecules cause damage to the melanocytes responsible for supplying the pigmentation to the hair. The melanocytes die prematurely due to oxidative stress, which produces the premature gray hair that occurs in vitiligo patients.

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