How did Michael Jackson Turned White? - Jian Hao

There are many myths surrounding the color change of Michael Jackson in the early 90s. He was widely chastised in the media for ‘turning his back on his African ancestry’. He was accused of bleaching his skin in an attempt to ‘look white’.
When the slanderous attacks became intolerable, in 1993, Michael Jackson revealed, during an Oprah show, that he had a skin disease that turned his skin white. In 1994, Michael Jackson’s dermatologist Dr.Arnold Klein testified that MJ was diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus in 1984. Though lupus erythematosus is a potentially lethal disease, luckily it was in remission in Michael. Both discoid lupus erythematosus and vitiligo can produce loss of pigmentation in the skin.
What is Vitiligo?
Vitiligo is a common skin disorder that affects 1 in 250 people world over. Half of the cases start between the ages of 10 to 30 years. Genetics plays a role in vitiligo and there is a family history of vitiligo in about 30% of patients, as in the case of Michael Jackson. Vitiligo runs in his family.
Vitiligo is considered an autoimmune disease, where the body’s immune cells attack and destroy the coloring pigment melanin bearing cells in the skin. The onset of vitiligo may be triggered following some trauma to the skin, stress or other illnesses. In some patients, vitiligo is limited to a small area and is stationary for a long time. 30% patients report some spontaneous regression of the white patches over the years. But in most patients, like Michael Jackson, the progress of vitiligo is relentless with white patches continuing to appear despite treatment.
Vitiligo is a chronic disease and the response to treatment is variable. Early age of onset of vitiligo, presence of associated autoimmune diseases like thyroiditis or lupus erythematosus, life style diseases like diabetes, uncontrolled stress, black hair turning white and the involvement of lips, fingertips, toe-tips and genitals are predictors of poor prognosis in vitiligo.Read more: http://skindisease.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_did_michael_jackson_skin_turn_white#ixzz0PvSbLOPy