الفهرس 
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Abstract
Vitiligo is a depigmentation disorder resulting from the activity loss of melanocytes in the skin and affects 0.5-2 % of the world population.
The exact etiology of vitiligo has not yet been completely understood. The evolving evidence suggests that vitiligo is a complex disorder caused by the interaction of multiple genes, the immune system and environmental factors, however it is known as an inflammatory disorder which is associated with increased expression of inflammatory cytokines in skin and blood.
Many cytokines play a role in vitiligo pathogenesis and can be used as activity markers , two of them were included in our study:-
Interleukin-2 which is an important mediator of immune function though its effects on the growth, development, and activity of T and B lymphocytes. Apart from its most important role to mediate antigen specific T-lymphocyte proliferation, IL-2 modulates the expression of interferon-gamma and major histocompatibility antigens.
Tumor necrosis factor-α is thought to participate in the immunopathogenesis of vitiligo by inducing melanocyte dysfunction and death through various mechanisms.
The aim of this work is to study the association of IL-2 and TNF-α to disease activity and progression in vitiligo patients. Forty vitiligo patients with different age groups classified into two groups according to their disease activity and twenty healthy controls were included in the study.
All patients were subjected to full history taking and clinical examination .Venous blood samples were taken from patients and controls. Serum IL-2 and serum TNF-α were measured by ELISA, the patient were followed up clinically and by taking photographs for another 6 months.
The study found that serum IL-2 levels was significantly increased (p=0.001) in vitiligo patients with a mean value of 256.46 ± 54.62 compared with controls where the mean was between 101.0 – 864.0 , and also found significant increase(p=0.003) regarding serum levels of IL-2 in patient with active type of vitiligo ,the mean was 262.10 ± 62.13 rather than those those with stable type with a mean value of 250.83 ± 46.86.
But regarding serum TNF-α level, the study found no significant difference(p=0.888) between serum TNF-α level in patients and the mean value ranged between 323.6 ± 49.34 and controls with a mean value of 364.9 ± 186.5,also no significant difference (p=0.756) of serum TNF-α level in patients with active vitiligo (group B) with a mean value between 322.6 ± 63.45 and those with stable type of vitilgo (group A) and their mean value ranged between 324.6 ± 31.11.
In our study, regarding group B a significant negative correlation (P=0.029) was present between disease duration and serum IL-2 level ,but no significant correlation was present (P=0. 0.614) between disease duration and serum TNF-α level.
In addition a significant positive correlation (p=0.025) was present between serum TNF-α level and baseline VASI score regarding group A, but no significant correlation (P=0.128) found between baseline VASI score and serum IL-2 level.