Albinism

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Albinism

INTRODUCTION
For my research project I have chosen the genetic disease albinism. There are a few reasons why I chose albinism as my topic. First and foremost, in kindergarten I had a friend who was an albino, and although I have not seen him in over 10 years I am still curious as to what the causes of albinism are. Back then, my mother explained it to me by saying, “that’s just the way his skin is” which is a fine way to explain it to a five year old, but now I find myself wanting to know more.
Another reason I am curious about albinism actually extends from my first reason. I often wondered if there was any chance that my kids could possibly be born with it. I know now that it sounds a little bit ridiculous but I would sometimes worry that I wouldn’t be able to take my children to the beach (I knew this because my friend from kindergarten could never come with us when we went in the summer). I also used to wonder whether or not my friend could see the same way I could, since his eyes looked so different from mine. As a result of all of this, I could not turn down the opportunity to research a disease that has held my curiosity for such a long time.
PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERISTICS
The most prominent phenotypic characteristic of albinism is obviously the lack of skin coloring. Albino skin is whitish in appearance, sometimes seeming to be almost translucent. Similarly, albino hair is also very pale, appearing closer to white than blonde. Albinism makes the skin extremely sensitive to sunlight. Albinos need to be very careful about exposure to the sun as they have a very high risk of burning due to lack of protection from ultraviolet rays, which is normally provided by the pigment melanin (2).
Similar to the skin, albino eyes also lack color; the irises usually appear pinkish. People with albinism often have eye problems. First of all, they suffer from severe sensitivity to bright lights. Cases of extreme nearsightedness or farsightedness that cannot be completely corrected with eyeglasses are also common. People with albinism also sometimes demonstrate an involuntary back and forth movement of the eyes called nystagmus. Finally, people with albinism are more likely to develop astigmatism. It is possible to have albinism that affects the eyes without also affecting the skin. This is known as ocular albinism (3).
INHERITANCE
Albinism is an autosomal recessive disorder. All the children of two affected homozygous affected parents are also affected. This ...

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