MC1R and metabolic syndrome: Hoggard et al. and Hoch et al. found higher levels of a-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (a-MSH), that binds to the Melanocortin 1 Receptor (MC1R) on human adipocytes and stimulates melanogenesis in their studies.28, 29 Thus, Pietrzak et al. concluded that decreased number of melanocytes together with the decreased melanogenesis in the adipose tissue might be the common reason behind the oxidative stress both in vitiligo and MetS.11