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Albinism
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Albinism / Hypopigmentation / Albinos
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Comments : 20
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General info About Albinism |
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Albinism is a congenital
disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment called
melanin in the skin, hair and eyes. It is
also known as hypopigmentation, oculocutaneous albinism or ocular albinism.  This is an autosomal recessive type of inherited disorder, which means that the chance of the disorder being passed from one generation to the next is low. Statistics show that about 1 in 17,000 people suffer from some form of albinism. Albinism is an inherited defect affecting melanin production and metabolism. Melanin is a naturally occurring pigment, which is responsible for the color of our skin, hair and eyes. It protects the skin from the harmful effects of ultraviolet light. Therefore, people in the tropics are darker as their sun exposure is more, in comparison to the people who live in temperate climates. If the gene encrypting this pigment is defective, the body becomes pale and white. People who are affected by albinism are called albinos. They have absence of color in the hair, skin, or iris of the eye; or lighter than normal skin and hair. Lack of skin pigmentation makes albinos more susceptible to sunburn and skin cancers. Vision problems like extreme far-sightedness or near-sightedness, nystagmus, strabismus, photophobia and astigmatism are common in people with albinism. Albinism can be diagnosed merely by observation of major or total absence of pigmentation of the skin, hair and eyes. Genetic testing, electroretinogram, chemical testing of hair and blood tests aid in diagnosing albinism. There is no cure for albinism. Treatment is aimed to ease the symptoms. Treatment of the eye conditions consists of visual rehabilitation. It is important that albinos use sunscreen before sun exposure to prevent premature skin aging or skin cancer. Albinos can live a normal life span, however, some forms of albinism can be life threatening. The lives of people with Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome can be shortened by lung disease. People in tropical countries who do not use skin protection may develop life-threatening skin cancers. Albinism may cause social problems, because people with albinism look different from their families, peers, and other members of their ethnic group. There is no known way to prevent albinism. Genetic counseling should be considered for individuals with a family history of albinism or hypopigmentation. |
Latest Publication and Research on Albinism - Updated on 04/18/2013.
Albinism in phylogenetically and geographically distinct populations of Astyanax cavefish arises through the same loss-of-function Oca2 allele. - Published by PubMed
Morphogenetic Model for Radial Streaking in the Fundus of the Carrier State of X-Linked Albinism. - Published by PubMed
Genetics for the ophthalmologist. - Published by PubMed
The first confirmed cases of full albinism in rajid species. - Published by PubMed
Passport control for foreign integrated DNAs: An unexpected checkpoint by class II HDAC4 revealed by amino acid starvation. - Published by PubMed
Albinism in phylogenetically and geographically distinct populations of Astyanax cavefish arises through the same loss-of-function Oca2 allele. - Published by PubMed
Morphogenetic Model for Radial Streaking in the Fundus of the Carrier State of X-Linked Albinism. - Published by PubMed
Genetics for the ophthalmologist. - Published by PubMed
The first confirmed cases of full albinism in rajid species. - Published by PubMed
Passport control for foreign integrated DNAs: An unexpected checkpoint by class II HDAC4 revealed by amino acid starvation. - Published by PubMed
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Comment & Contribute
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Posted by:
shah1
Posted on: 12/20/2011 hi i m an allied health professional and doing my research on the visual outcome with different optical aids of albinos to enhance their activities of daily life so plz any of u if have informaation about albinism plz send it on my id
Reply |
Forward
Posted by:
pink_y(Guest)
Posted on: 12/04/2011 Hi, I am an albinic girl. I am 29 years old. I am orried about if I marry a guy than shall I have a normal baby or an albenic. What are the risk factors. Please help
Posted by:
Jboyismyfriend
Posted on: 02/28/2012 Yeah, in Biology, I learned things such as Punnet Squares. If 2 capital A’s are in the genotype [AA], then they are not albino. If 2 lowercase a’s are in their genotype (aa), then they will be. If it is one of each (Aa), then they will not be albino, but they can pass it on to their kids. You have aa. Someone without albinism in their family at all is AA. If you marry that dude, your child will be Aa (they will not show albinism, but they can pass it on to their kids. If they marry someone with AA, the child will have a 50% chance of AA and a 50% chance of Aa ). If you marry someone with albinism in their family (Aa [actually, they could be AA also, but it is unlikely {it all depends on the parents}]) then your child will have a 50% chance aa (full albino) and a 50% chance Aa (pass it on to their children). Hope that helps. For more info, Google Punnet Squares.
Posted by:
reset(Guest)
Posted on: 04/23/2012 male cant pass any symptoms because, they are XY and only the X holds the phenotype.
female are XX so they can pass the phenotype.
also male that has it cant hide it, because there is only 1 X. the X holds the genes so female may get XA Xa and that hide the phenotype because there is another X with lower case a. |
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Posted by:
Alone
Posted on: 10/30/2011 Can anyone tell me will my children have albinism if i marry a girl whose father have albinism?
Posted by:
Jboyismyfriend
Posted on: 02/28/2012 Yeah, just see 2 comments up [pink_y]. Or, just read what I commented here:
Yeah, in Biology, I learned things such as Punnet Squares. If 2 capital A’s are in the genotype (AA), then they are not albino. If 2 lowercase a’s are in their genotype (aa), then they will be. If it is one of each (Aa), then they will not be albino, but they can pass it on to their kids. You have aa. Someone without albinism in their family at all is AA. If you marry that dude, your child will be Aa (they will not show albinism, but they can pass it on to their kids. If they marry someone with AA, the child will have a 50% chance of AA and a 50% chance of Aa ). If you marry someone with albinism in their family (Aa [actually, they could be AA also, but it is unlikely {it all depends on the parents}]) then your child will have a 50% chance aa (full albino) and a 50% chance Aa (pass it on to their children). Hope that helps. For more info, Google Punnet Squares. |
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Posted by:
kersisparkle(Guest)
Posted on: 09/05/2011 I have a new friend at school that has this. He is the sweetest boy ever and I swear he acts no different than any other teenage boy on this earth [: But I'm always afraid to talk to him about this stuff like asking him questions I basically pretend like I don't notice that he's a black kid that's white. So this was helpful
Posted by:
Jboyismyfriend
Posted on: 02/28/2012 No. You have a 1 in 4 chance, though, that you child will have Aa, in which they can pass it on to their children. Otherwise, they will be AA, where they have not albinism at all. I think I just commented on you before. |
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Posted by:
nikta
Posted on: 08/09/2011 I and my cousine carry albinism gene and neither of us have albinism,is it possible to change one of our gene or is there a way that we can born a healthy baby?
Posted by:
Jboyismyfriend
Posted on: 02/28/2012 Not exactly sure I understand. You seem to carry Aa, so if you have a baby dude person with someone who is not related to albinos, your children will not have it. However, your baby dude people will have a 1 in 4 chance each that they will have the same traits that you do. |
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Posted by:
IOnlyMadeThisLoginToPostThisComment(Guest)
Posted on: 03/11/2010 Omygosh! I'm a freshman doing a project on albinism! I saw a picture of an albino peacock and it was gorgeous! well, I had better go and finish up with my project! :) |
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Posted by:
d_pennell(Guest)
Posted on: 02/09/2010 hi my name is Darean Pennell i live in lansing michigan and i am a freshman in high school. i am doing a paper on people with albinism and have found out alot of stuff. even though i am not ill i fill for any one who is and thank you for this infomation
Posted by:
guest
Posted on: 02/24/2010 im also doing a project but im a senior PWNED!
Posted by:
guest
Posted on: 03/01/2010 Hey, me too! High five!
Posted by:
guest
Posted on: 03/24/2010 eyyyy! ima freshman and im doin stuff about albinism too:p but im all confused |
| View all Comments (20) | ||
Medwonders Health Network
| Latest News/Research of Albinism | |
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Is Albinism Treatment On The Anvil? |
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Molecular Structure Could Help Explain Albinism, Melanoma |
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Witch Doctors Butcher Tanzania's Albinos for 'Lucky Potions' |
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Albinos in Burundi Take Refuge from Sorcerers and Organ Traders |
| Total News Item 4 | |
