Inbred community in Romanian Village provides insight into genetics of Vitiligo

Stanca A. Birlea, et al, a team of researchers from the University of Colorado Denver, have found an inbred community in Romania, which have an unusually high incidence of Vitiligo. The finding is being considered to be extremely valuable in understanding the genetics of Vitiligo as well as some related autoimmune disorders.

The researchers have studied 1,673 residents of a village which is isolated in the mountains of northern Romania and consequently consist of an inbred community. They have identified 51 people with Vitiligo which makes 2.9 percent incidence in the community. This frequency is extremely high as compared to the rest of the world. It is 19.3 times higher than 5 other villages in the vicinity, 7.5 times higher than the whites of the island of Bornholm, 5.7 times greater than residents of Calcutta, India. The authors depose that the incidence of some other autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, and LADA was also higher in this community.

The researchers are studying the relatives of the affected individuals in order to identify the genes responsible for this high susceptibility to Vitiligo, and they hope that their findings may facilitate the medical scientist in better understanding of the disease and also n the search for better remedies.