الفهرس 
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Abstract
Vitiligo is a pigmentation disease associated with the formation of depigmented skin macules due to chronic and progressive loss of melanocytes from the cutaneous epidermis. NSV is the commonest form of this disease.
The exact cause of vitiligo is unknown, and several hypotheses (including autoimmune, neural, radical, self-destruction and inherent defect theories) have been suggested to explain its pathogenesis.
Several scores are available to assess disease extent, degree of pigmentation, activity and disease progression separately or in combination.
Lines of treatment include pharmacological including (Topical Corticosteroids (TCS), Calcineurin Inhibitors, Calcipotriol), Phototherapy, which is the main line of treatment, also surgical and physical treatment can be used, or a combination.
IL-15 is a cytokine that plays a role in the innate and the adaptive immunity. In addition, it acts as a growth factor and promotes the survival of T, B, and NK cells by preventing apoptosis.
IL-15 has a role in TRM formation and function, recalcitrant nature and well-defined lesions of vitiligo that return after stopping treatment.
The aim of this research was to assess the levels of interleukin 15 in the serum of non-segmental vitiligo patients and its relation to activity of the disease.
This study was conducted on forty patients with NSV and thirty healthy controls of the same age group who were selected from the dermatology outpatient clinic of Alexandria main university hospital.
Any participant having metabolic, endocrinal conditions, pregnancy, lactation, auto immune disease or receiving any medications was excluded from the study.
In all participants, complete medical history was taken, BSA, VIDA and VASI scores were also calculated. Serum levels of interleukin 15 were measured by ELISA kits.
In the present study, generalized vitiligo constituted 50 % of the cases, 40 % with acrofacial type and 10 % with universal type.
Regarding sex, 22.5% of the patients were males while 77.5% of the patients were females with the mean age of onset was 27 years.
The results of present work showed that serum level of IL-15 was significantly increased in NSV patients than healthy controls with higher levels in high grades of VIDA score than lower grades, indicating a probable role of IL-15 as a marker of disease activity.
IL-15 was increased in patients with short duration than those with long disease duration and more increased in patients with lower VASI score.
There was a significant elevation of serum IL-15 levels in unstable cases than in stable cases but there was no statistically significant differences between IL-15 levels in patients with different types of vitiligo or the age of the patients.