Introduction
Vitiligo is an acquired depigmenting disorder due to melanocyte loss affecting skin and mucosal surfaces with a prevalence of about 1%. Different theories regarding its pathogenesis have been put forward, autoimmunity being the most popular one. The latter is based mainly on the association of vitiligo with known autoimmune diseases and the presence of organ specific antibodies in affected patients (1) . Clinically, autoimmune atrophic gastritis ( AAG) is not associated with any specific gastrointestinal signs or symptoms. In a recent study,the most common initial findings were hematological disorders (Pernicious anemia in 10% to 15%of patients), followed by a positive histology for gastritis (2) . In less than 10% of the patients, a clinical suspicion of AAG was provided by the concomitant presence of other autoimmune diseases.The prevalence of Autoimmune Atrophic Gastritis (A.A.G) in vitiligo patients, certainly underdiagnosed, was estimated about 15%.(3)
The purpose of our study is first to perform successive biopsies both in skin and gastric mucosa samples from two patients with vitiligo associated to AAG and second to compare step by step their histological and immunohistological characters .