From The Body Odd via MSNBC:

Diane Mapes writes: Imagine waking up one morning with a white splotch on the side of your face. Over time, the splotch gets bigger and is joined by others on your hands, your arm pits, your head, your mouth, your belly button, even your groin.

Sound like a bad dream? It’s actually the sort of thing that happens on a daily basis to the millions of Americans who suffer from vitiligo

The disease — which causes people to lose some or all of the pigment in their skin — has baffled medical researchers for years, but scientists may have finally cracked the code on vitiligo — the disorder that plagued Michael Jackson and currently affects up to 1 percent of the U.S. population.

The disease hits all ethnic groups with the same frequency, but it’s more noticeable — and often more devastating — for people with dark skin.

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