Albinism

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Albinism

Albinism (from Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
albus, "white"; see extended etymology, also called achromia, achromasia, or achromatosis; not to be confused with albedo

Albedo

The albedo of an object is the extent to which it diffusely reflects light from the Sun. It is therefore a more specific form of the term reflectivity....
) is a form of hypopigmentary

Hypopigmentation

Hypopigmentation is the loss of skin color. It is caused by melanocyte depletion — a decrease in the amino acid tyrosine, which is used by melanocytes to make melanin....
congenital disorder

Congenital disorder

Congenital disorder involves defects in or damage to a developing fetus. It may be the result of Genetics abnormalities, the intrauterine environment, errors of morphogenesis, or a chromosomal abnormality....
, characterized by a partial (in hypomelanism, also known as hypomelanosis) or total (amelanism or amelanosis) lack of melanin

Melanin

Melanin is a class of compounds found in the plant, animal, and protista kingdom , where it serves predominantly as a pigment. The class of pigments are derivatives of the amino acid tyrosine....
pigment

Biological pigment

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Types of human albinism

Albinism is hereditary; it is not an infectious disease

Infectious disease

An infectious disease is a clinically evident disease resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, Mycosis, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions....
and cannot be transmitted through contact, blood transfusion

Blood transfusion

Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood or blood-based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. Blood transfusions can be life-saving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to Physical trauma, or can be used to replace blood lost during surgery....
s, or other vectors

Vector (biology)

In epidemiology, a vector is an organism that does not cause disease itself but that transmits infection by conveying pathogens from one Host to another, serving as a transmission ....
. The principal gene which results in albinism prevents the body from making the usual amounts of the pigment

Biological pigment

Biological pigments, also known simply as pigments or biochromes are substances produced by living organisms that have a color resulting from selective Absorption ....
melanin

Melanin

Dominance relationship

In genetics, dominance describes the effects of the different versions of a particular gene on the phenotype of an organism. Many animals and plants have diploid in their genome, one inherited from each parent....
allele

Allele

An allele is one member of a pair or series of different forms of a gene. Usually alleles are coding region, but sometimes the term is used to refer to a junk DNA....
s (gene

Gene

A gene is the basic unit of heredity in a living organism. All living things depend on genes. Genes hold the information to build and maintain their cell and pass genetic trait to offspring....
s) passed from both parents of an individual, though some rare forms are inherited from only one parent. There are other genetic mutations which are proven to be associated with albinism. All alterations, however, lead to changes in melanin production in the body.

Albinism was formerly categorized as tyrosinase

Tyrosinase

Tyrosinase is an enzyme that Catalysis the oxidation of phenols and is widespread in plants and animals. Tyrosinase is a copper-containing enzyme present in plant and animal tissues that catalyzes the production of melanin and other pigments from tyrosine by oxidation, as in the blackening of a peeled or sliced potato exposed to air....
-positive or -negative. In cases of tyrosinase-positive albinism, the enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
tyrosinase is present. The melanocyte

Melanocyte

Melanocytes are cell located in the bottom layer of the skin's epidermis , the middle layer of the eye , the inner ear, meninges, bones and heart....
s (pigment cells) are unable to produce melanin for any one of a variety of reasons that do not directly involve the tyrosinase enzyme. In tyrosinase-negative cases, either the tyrosinase enzyme is not produced or a nonfunctional version is produced. This classification has been rendered obsolete by recent research.

The chance of offspring with albinism resulting from the pairing of an organism with albinism and one without albinism is low, as discussed in more detail below. However, because organisms can be carriers of genes for albinism without exhibiting any traits, albinistic offspring can be produced by two non-albinistic parents. Albinism usually occurs with equal frequency in both genders. An exception to this is ocular albinism, because it is passed on to offspring through X-linked inheritance. Thus, males more frequently have ocular albinism as they do not have a second X chromosome. , Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia]] Because organisms with albinism have skin that lacks (sufficiently or entirely) the dark pigment melanin, which helps protect the skin from ultraviolet

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than x-rays, in the range 400 nanometer to 10 nm, and energies from 3 Electron volt to 124 eV....
radiation

Radiation

In physics, radiation describes any process in which energy emitted by one body travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body....
coming from the sun, they can sunburn

SunBurn

SunBurn is a regional event held in Florida. Although SunBurn has its roots in the annual Burning Man festival in Nevada, it is not an official Burning Man event, because the organizers of SunBurn do not condone the direction that the Burning Man Organization has taken over the years....
easily from overexposure. (See human skin color

Human skin color

Human skin color can range from almost black to nearly colorless in different homo sapiens. Skin color is determined by the amount and type of melanin, the pigment in the skin....
for more information). Lack of melanin in the eye also results in problems with vision, related and unrelated to photosensitivity

Photosensitivity

Photosensitivity is the amount to which an object reacts upon receiving photons, especially visible light....
, which are discussed further below.

Most humans and many animals with albinism appear white or very pale; the multiple types of melanin pigment are responsible for brown, black, gray, and some yellow colorations. In some animals, especially albinistic birds

Albinism in birds

Albinism in birds is rare, occurring to any extent in perhaps one in 1800 individuals , though near Prypiat, Ukraine most sparrows have slight albinism....
and reptiles, ruddy and yellow hues or other colors may be present on the entire body or in patches (as is common among pigeons), due to the presence of other pigments unaffected by albinism such as porphyrin

Porphyrin

Porphyrins are a group of chemical compounds of which many occur in nature, such as in green leaves and red blood cells, and in bio-inspired synthetic catalysts and devices....
s, pteridine

Pteridine

Pteridine is a chemical compound composed of fused pyrimidine and pyrazine rings. A pteridine is also a group of heterocyclic compounds containing a wide variety of substitutions on this structure....
s and psittacins, as well as carotenoid

Carotenoid

Carotenoids are organic compound pigments that are naturally occurring in chromoplasts of plants and some other photosynthesis organisms like algae, some types of fungus and some bacterium....
pigments derived from the diet. Some animals are white or pale due to chromatophore

Chromatophore

Chromatophores are Biological pigment-containing and light-reflecting cell found in amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans, and cephalopods. They are largely responsible for generating skin and eye color in cold-blooded animals and are generated in the neural crest during embryonic development....
(pigment cell) defects, do not lack melanin production, and have normal eyes; they are referred to as leucistic. The direct opposite of albinism, an unusually high level of melanin pigmentation (and sometimes absence of other types of pigment in species that have more than one), is known as melanism

Melanism

Melanism [Gr. ???a?] is an increased amount of black or nearly black pigmentation of an organism, resulting from the presence of melanin. It is the opposite of Leucism and albinism which occurs due to lack of melanin....
, and results in an appearance darker than non-melanistic specimens from the same genepool. Albinism-like conditions may affect other pigments or pigment-production mechanisms in some animals (e.g. "whiteface", a lack of psittacins that can affect some parrot species.). Another is common in reptiles and amphibians: axanthism, in which xanthophore metabolism

Metabolism

Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms in order to maintain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments....
, instead of synthesis

Chemical synthesis

In chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of chemical reactions in order to get a product , or several products. This happens by physics and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions....
of melanin, is affected, resuling in reduction or absence of red and yellow pteridine pigments. Of all these conditions, only albinism and melanism affect humans. The eyes of an animal with albinism occasionally appear red due to the underlying retinal blood vessels showing through where there is not enough pigment to cover them. In humans this is rarely the case, as a human eye is quite large and thus produces enough pigment to lend opacity to the eye, often colouring the iris pale blue. However, there are cases in which the eyes of an albinistic person appear red or purple, depending on the amount of pigment present.

The albinistic are generally (but see related disorders below) as healthy as the rest of their species, with growth and development occurring as normal, and albinism by itself does not cause mortality (though the lack of pigment is an elevated risk for skin cancer and other problems.) Many animals with albinism lack their protective camouflage

Camouflage

Camouflage is a method of cryptic or concealing coloration that allows an otherwise visible organism or object to remain invisibility through deception....
and are unable to conceal themselves from their predators or prey; the survival rate of animals with albinism in the wild is usually quite low. However the novelty of albino animals has occasionally led to their protection by groups such as the Albino Squirrel Preservation Society

Albino Squirrel Preservation Society

The Albino Squirrel Preservation Society is an international collegiate organization dedicated to "fostering compassion and goodwill" toward Albinism squirrels....
.

Intentionally-bred albinistic strains of some animal species are commonly used as model organism

Model organism

A model organism is a species that is extensively studied to understand particular biology phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms....
s in biomedical study and experimentation. Examples include the BALB/c

BALB/c

BALB/c is an albino strain of laboratory mouse from which a number of common substrains are derived. Now over 200 generations from their origin in New York in 1920, BALB/c mice are distributed globally, and among the most widely used inbred strains used in animal experimentation....
mouse and Wistar and Sprague Dawley rat strains, while albino rabbits were historically used for Draize toxicity testing

Draize test

The Draize Test is an acute toxicity test devised in 1944 by Food and Drug Administration toxicologist John H. Draize. Initially used for testing cosmetics, the procedure involves applying 0.5mL or 0.5g of a test substance to an animal's eye or skin for four hours....
. Albino axolotl

Axolotl

The axolotl , Ambystoma mexicanum, is the best known of the Mexican neoteny mole salamanders belonging to the Tiger Salamander complex....
s, zebrafish, medaka and frogs

Xenopus

Xenopus is a genus of highly aquatic frogs native to Sub-Saharan Africa. There are 18 species in the Xenopus genus. They are known collectively as African Clawed Frogs or Platanna....
are other common laboratory animals. The yellow mutation in fruit flies

Drosophila

Drosophila is a genus of small fly, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit....
is their version of albinism.

The incidence of albinism can be artificially increased in fish by exposing the eggs to heavy metals

Heavy metals

A heavy metal is a member of an ill-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties, which would mainly include the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides, and actinides....
.

About 1 in 17,000 human beings has some type of albinism, although up to 1 in 70 is a carrier of albinism genes.

Classification

There are two main categories of albinism in humans:

In oculocutaneous albinism
Oculocutaneous albinism

Oculocutaneous albinism is a form of albinism involving the eyes , skin , and according to some definitions, the hair as well.Four types of oculocutaneous albinism have been described, all caused by a disruption of melanin synthesis and all autosomal recessive disorders....
(despite its Latin-derived name meaning "eye-and-skin" albinism), pigment is lacking in the eyes, skin and hair. (The equivalent mutation in non-humans also results in lack of melanin in the fur, scales or feathers.) People with oculocutaneous albinism can have anywhere from no pigment at all to almost-normal levels.
In ocular albinism
Ocular albinism

Ocular albinism is a form of albinism which, in contrast to oculocutaneous albinism, presents primarily in the eyes. There are multiple forms of ocular albinism, which are clinically similar....
, only the eyes lack pigment. People who have ocular albinism have generally normal skin and hair color, and many even have a normal eye appearance.

Other conditions include albinism as part of their presentation. These include Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder which results in Albinism , bleeding problems due to a platelet abnormality , and storage of an abnormal fat-protein compound ....
, Chediak-Higashi syndrome

Chédiak-Higashi syndrome

Chediak-Higashi syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder that affects multiple systems of the body, and arises from a mutation in the lysosomal trafficking regulator gene, LYST....
, Griscelli syndrome

Griscelli syndrome

Griscelli syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by albinism with immunodeficiency, that usually causes death by early childhood....
, Waardenburg syndrome

Waardenburg syndrome

Waardenburg syndrome or Waardenburg-Klein syndrome is a rare genetic disorder most often characterized by varying degrees of deafness, minor defects in structures arising from the neural crest, and pigmentation anomalies....
, and Tietz syndrome

Tietz syndrome

Tietz syndrome is a condition characterized by deafness and albinism. Tietz syndrome was characterized in 1963....
. These conditions are sometimes classified with albinism. Several have sub-types. Some are easily distinguished by appearance, but in most cases genetic testing is the only way to be certain.

Symptoms and conditions associated with albinism

Genetic testing

Genetic testing allows the Genetics diagnosis of vulnerabilities to inherit diseases, and can also be used to determine a person's ancestry. Normally, every person carries two copies of every gene, one inherited from their mother, one inherited from their father....
can confirm albinism and what variety it is, but offers no medical benefits except in the cases of non-OCA disorders (see below) that cause albinism along with other medical problems which may be treatable. The symptoms of albinism can be treated by various methods detailed below.

Eye conditions common in albinism may include:

Nystagmus, irregular rapid movement of the eyes back and forth, or in circular motion.
Strabismus
Strabismus

Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes are not properly aligned with each other. It typically involves a lack of coordination between the Muscles of orbits that prevents bringing the gaze of each eye to the same point in space and preventing proper binocular vision, which may adversely affect depth perception....
, eye misalignment ("crossed eyes" or "lazy eye").
Refractive errors such as myopia
Myopia

Myopia , also called near- or short-sightedness, is a Refractive error of the eye in which collimated light produces image focus in front of the retina when accommodation is relaxed....
or hyperopia
Hyperopia

Hyperopia, also known as far-sightedness, long-sightedness or hypermetropia, is a defect of visual system caused by an imperfection in the eye , causing inability to Focus on near objects, and in extreme cases causing a sufferer to be unable to focus on objects at any distance....
and especially astigmatism
Astigmatism (eye)

Astigmatism is an optical defect in which vision is blurred due to the inability of the optics of the eye to focus a point object into a sharp focused image on the retina....
are more likely
Photophobia
Photophobia

Photophobia is a symptom of excessive sensitivity to light and the aversion to sunlight or well-lit places. In medical terms it is not fear, but an experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to light exposure....
, hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity

Hypersensitivity refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system. Hypersensitivity reactions require a pre-sensitized state of the host....
to bright light and glare.
Foveal hypoplasia, underdevelopment of the fovea
Fovea

The fovea, also known as the fovea centralis, is a part of the eye, located in the center of the macula region of the retina.The fovea is responsible for sharp central Visual perception , which is necessary in humans for reading , watching television or movies, driving, and any activity where visual detail is of primary importance....
, the center of the retina
Retina

The vertebrate retina is a light sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera....
Optic nerve hypoplasia
Optic nerve hypoplasia

Optic nerve hypoplasia is a medical condition that results in underdevelopment of the optic nerves....
, underdevelopment of the optic nerve
Abnormal decussation (crossing) of the optic nerve fibers in the optic chiasm
Optic chiasm

The optic chiasm or optic chiasma is the part of the brain where the optic nerves partially cross....
Amblyopia
Amblyopia

Amblyopia, otherwise known as lazy eye, is a Disease of the visual system that is characterized by poor or indistinct Visual perception in an eye that is otherwise physically normal, or out of proportion to associated structural abnormalities....
, decrease in acuity of one or both eyes due to poor transmission to the brain, often due to other conditions such as strabismus
Strabismus

Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes are not properly aligned with each other. It typically involves a lack of coordination between the Muscles of orbits that prevents bringing the gaze of each eye to the same point in space and preventing proper binocular vision, which may adversely affect depth perception....
.

Organisms with albinism usually have impaired vision due to one or more of the listed conditions. While a person with albinism may suffer from common refractive errors like nearsightedness or farsightedness, the visual problems particularly associated with albinism arise from a poorly-developed retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) due to the lack of melanin . This degenerate RPE causes foveal hypoplasia

Hypoplasia

Hypoplasia is underdevelopment or incomplete development of a tissue or organ. Although the term is not always used precisely, it properly refers to an inadequate or below-normal number of cells....
(a failure in the development of normal fovea

Fovea

The fovea, also known as the fovea centralis, is a part of the eye, located in the center of the macula region of the retina.The fovea is responsible for sharp central Visual perception , which is necessary in humans for reading , watching television or movies, driving, and any activity where visual detail is of primary importance....
e), which results in eccentric fixation and lower visual acuity, and often a minor level of strabismus. Nystagmus is usually seen, as is photophobia

Photophobia

Photophobia is a symptom of excessive sensitivity to light and the aversion to sunlight or well-lit places. In medical terms it is not fear, but an experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to light exposure....
or light sensitivity (see below).

The iris

Iris (anatomy)

The iris is a membrane in the eye, responsible for controlling the amount of light reaching the retina. The iris consists of pigmented fibrovascular tissue known as a stroma of iris....
is a sphincter

Sphincter

A sphincter is a structure, usually a circular muscle, that normally maintains constriction of a natural body passage or orifice and which relaxes as required by normal physiological functioning....
with pigmented tissue (which makes up the color of the eyes) that contracts to limit the amount of light that can enter through the pupil and relaxes again to allow for better vision in darkness. This mechanism can be observed in humans and mammals (like in cat's eyes) and is needed because too much light is uncomfortable or even painful and decreases vision. In people with albinism, the iris does not have enough pigment to block the light, thus the decrease of pupil diameter is only partially successful in reducing the amount of light that enters the eye. . Additionally, the improper development of the RPE, which in normal eyes absorbs most of the reflected sunlight, further increases glare due to light scattering within the eye. The resulting sensitivity (photophobia) generally leads to a dislike of and discomfort in bright light, but does not prevent people with albinism enjoying the outdoors, especially when using sunglasses and/or brimmed hats.

The lack of pigment also makes the skin unusually sensitive to sunlight and thus susceptible to sunburn

SunBurn

Treatment of the symptoms

Albinism is a condition that cannot be "cured", but small things can be done to improve the quality of life for those affected. Most importantly to improve vision, protect the eyes from bright lights, and avoid skin damage from sunlight. The extent and success rate of these measures depend on the type of albinism and severity of the symptoms; in particular, people with ocular albinism are likely to have normally-pigmented skin, and thus do not need to take special precautions against skin damage.

Surgical treatment

For the most part, treatment of the eye conditions consists of visual rehabilitation. Surgery is possible on the ocular muscles to decrease nystagmus

Nystagmus

Pathologic nystagmus is a form of involuntary eye movement. It is characterized by alternating smooth pursuit in one direction and saccadic movement in the other direction....
, strabismus

Strabismus

Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes are not properly aligned with each other. It typically involves a lack of coordination between the Muscles of orbits that prevents bringing the gaze of each eye to the same point in space and preventing proper binocular vision, which may adversely affect depth perception....
and common refractive errors like astigmatism

Astigmatism (eye)

Astigmatism is an optical defect in which vision is blurred due to the inability of the optics of the eye to focus a point object into a sharp focused image on the retina....
. Strabismus surgery may improve the appearance of the eyes. Nystagmus

Nystagmus

Pathologic nystagmus is a form of involuntary eye movement. It is characterized by alternating smooth pursuit in one direction and saccadic movement in the other direction....
-damping surgery can also be performed, to reduce the "shaking" of the eyes back and forth. The effectiveness of all these procedures varies greatly and depends on individual circumstances. More importantly, since surgery will not restore a normal RPE or foveae, surgery will not provide fine binocular vision. In the case of esotropia

Esotropia

Esotropia is a form of strabismus, or "squint", in which one or both eyes turns inward. The condition can be constantly present, or occur intermittently, and can give the affected individual a "cross-eyed" appearance....
(the "crossed eyes" form of strabismus), surgery may help vision by expanding the visual field

Visual field

The term 'visual field' is sometimes used as a synonym to field of view, though they do not designate the same thing. The visual field is the "spatial array of visual sensations available to observation in introspection psychological experiments" , while field of view "refers to the physical objects and light sources in the external world...
(the area that the eyes can see while looking at one point).

Vision aids

Glasses

Glasses or specs, more formally known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are frames bearing lens worn in front of the eyes, normally for Corrective lens, eye protection, or for UV Coating....
and other vision aids, large-print materials and closed captioning

Closed captioning

Closed captioning is a term describing several systems developed to display Written language on a television or video Display device to provide additional or interpretive information to viewers who wish to access it....
, as well as bright but angled reading lights, can help individuals with albinism, even though their vision cannot be corrected completely. Some albinistic people do well using bifocals

Bifocals

Bifocals are eyeglasses whose corrective lenses each contain regions with two distinct optical powers. Bifocals are most commonly prescribed to people with presbyopia who also require a correction for myopia, hypermetropia, and/or Astigmatism ....
(with a strong reading lens), prescription reading glasses, and/or hand-held devices such as magnifiers

Magnifying glass

A magnifying glass is a Lens #Types of lenses which is used to produce a magnification of an object. The lens is usually mounted in a frame with a handle ....
or monocular

Monocular

A monocular is a modified refracting telescope used to magnify the images of distant objects by passing light through a series of lens and Prism s; the use of prisms results in a mass telescope....
s. Contact lenses may be colored to block light transmission through the iris. Some use bioptics, glasses which have small telescopes mounted on, in, or behind their regular lenses, so that they can look through either the regular lens or the telescope. Newer designs of bioptics use smaller light-weight lenses. Some US states allow the use of bioptic telescopes for driving motor vehicles. (See also NOAH

Noah

Noah was, according to the Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs ; and a prophet according to the Qur'an. The biblical story of Noah is contained in the book of Book of Genesis, chapters 5-9, while the Qur'an has a whole sura named after and devoted to his story with other references elsewhere....
bulletin "Low Vision Aids".)

Although still disputed among the experts, many ophthalmologists

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine which deals with the Eye diseases and Eye surgery of the visual pathways, including the eye, brain, and areas surrounding the eye, such as the lacrimal system and eyelids....
recommend the use of glasses from early childhood onward to allow the eyes the best development possible.

Optometrists

Optometry

Optometry is a health profession concerned with eyes and related structures, as well as Visual acuity, visual systems, and Visual perception in humans....
or ophthalmologists who are experienced in working with low vision

Low vision

Low vision is a subspecialty within the professions of optometry and ophthalmology and opticianry dealing with individuals who have less than normal vision even with the most accurate conventional prescription available....
patients can recommend various optical aids. Some low-vision clinics provide these aids on trial loan, with instruction in their use.

Sun protection

It is vital that people with albinism use sunscreen when exposed to sunlight to prevent premature skin aging or skin cancer

Skin cancer

Skin cancer is a malignant growth on the skin which can have many causes. The most common skin cancers are basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma....
. This poses a problem for those who cannot afford sunscreen

Sunscreen

Sunscreen is a lotion, spray, gel or other topical product that absorbs or reflects the sun's ultraviolet radiation and protects the skin.Sunscreens contain one or more UV filters of which there are three main types :...
, especially in regions with high exposure to sunlight, as in Africa.

Use of sunglasses

Sunglasses

Sunglasses or sun glasses are a visual aid, variously termed spectacles or glasses, which feature lenses that are coloured or darkened to prevent strong light from reaching the eyes....
and hats with wide brims can make the glare outside bearable. Other things that can help people with albinism are avoiding sudden changes of the lighting situation (switching the light on in complete darkness), using dimmable switches and adding tint to car windows or blinds to normal windows. Lights should be yellowish rather than blue and not point towards the usual position of a person with albinism (like their seat at a table).

Misconceptions

While some of the very rare albinism disorders that are coupled with deafness and immunodeficiency appear to be linked with inbreeding, the vast majority of sufferers of common albinism are not the product of such unions; the more usual albinism genes are widespread enough that they can easily produce albinistic offspring from parents that are not related.

A common misconception is that albinistic individuals of a species are sterile; they are in fact fully capable of reproducing. It is also thought by many that people with albinism live short life spans. This is not true in general, but may be a distorted view of a more reasonable fact that people with albinism have a higher risk of skin cancer if they do not use proper skin protection when in the sun. (Some very rare variants of albinism are lethal by adulthood or sooner, but they are so little-known by the general public that they are unlikely to have contributed to this belief.)

It has also been misunderstood that a person or other animal with albinism will become blind halfway through life; this is incorrect.

Culture

In physical terms, humans with albinism commonly have vision problems and need sun protection. They also face social

Society

A society is a group of humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive culture and/or institutions....
and cultural

Culture

Culture is difficult to define. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions....
challenges (even threats) as the condition is often a source of ridicule, discrimination, or even fear and violence.

Due to albinism's effect on one's outward appearance, cultures around the world have developed many beliefs regarding people with albinism. This folklore ranges from harmless myth to dangerously superstitious legends that cost human lives. In Tanzania

Tanzania

Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country in East Africa that is bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south....
starting in 2007 persecution of albinos

Persecution of albinos

Persecution of albinos is based on the belief that certain body parts of albinistic people transmit magical powers. This superstition which is present in some parts of East Africa has been promulgated and exploited by witch doctors and others who use such body parts as ingredients in rituals, concoctions and potions with the claim that their...
was initiated by witch doctor

Witch doctor

A witch doctor often refers to healers in some third world regions, who use traditional healing rather than contemporary Western medicine....
s and their helpers to provide magic potions for clients.

Other examples: In Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east....
, belief that sex with an albinistic woman will cure a man of HIV

HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that can lead to AIDS , a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections....
has lead to rape

Rape

Rape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent....
s (and subsequent HIV infections). In Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about south of Cuba, and west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated....
, the albinistic have long been degraded, and regarded as "curse

Curse

A curse is any manner of adversity thought to be inflicted by any supernatural power, such as a spell , a prayer, an imprecation, an execration, magic , witchcraft, a god, a natural force, or a spiritual being....
d". In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, an urban legend

Urban legend

An urban legend, urban myth, or urban tale is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories thought to be factual by those circulating them....
has it that there are alleged "albino colonies" in rural New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
. (See Albinism in popular culture for details.)

Portrayals of people with albinism in literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" . In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and non-fiction....
and film

Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
s are rarely positive. This fact is sometimes referred to as the "evil albino" stereotype, or albino bias. While this stereotype is common, in recent years a few more positive roles have also been cast for mock-albino actors and occasionally genuinely albinistic ones. (See Albinism in popular culture for lists of such portrayals.)

A number of real people with albinism have become famous, including historical figures such as Emperor Seinei

Emperor Seinei

, or rather Shiraka no okimi was the 22nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but Seinei is thought to have ruled the country during the late 5th century....
of Japan, and Oxford don William Archibald Spooner

William Archibald Spooner

William Archibald Spooner was a famous University of Oxford University don after whom is named a linguistic phenomenon, spoonerism....
; actor/comedian Victor Varnado

Victor Varnado

Victor Varnado is an United States standup comedian and actor, born in Gary, Indiana on May 15, 1969. He is African American and is Albinism....
; musicians such as Johnny

Johnny Winter

John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an United States blues guitarist, Vocalist and Record producer.Johnny and Edgar Winter were nurtured at an early age by their parents in their musical pursuits....
and Edgar Winter

Edgar Winter

Edgar Holland Winter is an American musician who had significant success in the 1970s and 1980s. Edgar is a multi-instrumentalist, performing on the keyboards, and as a vocalist, saxophonist and percussionist, well-versed in jazz, blues and rock music....
, Salif Keita

Salif Keita

Salif Keita is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita....
, Winston "King Yellowman" Foster

Yellowman

Yellowman is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, widely known as King Yellowman. He was popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, coming to prominence with a series of singles that established his reputation....
, Brother Ali

Brother Ali

Brother Ali is an United States Hip hop music artist.'Early Life'Brother Ali is an American Hip Hop artist based in Minneapolis, MN....
, and Willie "Piano Red" Perryman

Piano Red

William "Willie" Lee Perryman , who was usually known professionally as Piano Red and later in life as Dr. Feelgood, was an United States blues musician, the first to hit the pop music record chart....
; even a fashion model, Connie Chiu

Connie Chiu

Connie Chiu is a China Albinism fashion model.Chiu was born in Hong Kong to a Chinese family. Like many people with albinism, she had to wear sunglasses to protect her photosensitive eyes from the sunlight, and was often sunburned, so as a result her family moved to Sweden when she was seven....
. (See Albinism in popular culture for a list.)

There have also been some famed albino animals, including Migaloo

Humpback Whale

The humpback whale is a Baleen whale whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms ....
, a whale off the coast of Australia; Floquet de Neu

Floquet de Neu

Snowflake was an Albinism gorilla. He was the most popular resident of the Barcelona Zoo in Spain.Originally named Nfumu Ngui in Fang language by his captor, he was then nicknamed Floquet de Neu by his keeper Jordi Sabater Pi....
a Barcelona Zoo gorilla; Snowdrop, a Bristol Zoo

Bristol Zoo

Bristol Zoo is a zoo in the city of Bristol in South West of England. The zoo's stated mission is "Bristol Zoo Gardens maintains and defends biodiversity through breeding endangered species, conserving threatened species and habitats and promoting a wider understanding of the natural world"....
penguin; the Pink Dolphin in Louisiana

Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
and the sperm whale Mocha Dick

Mocha Dick

Mocha Dick was a notorious male sperm whale that lived in the Pacific Ocean in the early 19th century, usually encountered in the waters near the island of Mocha Island, off southern Chile....
, the inspiration for Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick

Moby-Dick is an 1851 novel by Herman Melville. The story tells the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whaling Pequod , commanded by Captain Ahab....
. (See Albinism in popular culture for details.)

External links

Albinism support organizations

—Non-profit organization founded by photographer Rick Guidotti, "dedicated to celebrating the spirit of difference". Focuses on genetic conditions, especially albinism.
—National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (USA); also has an online support group
(research project based at the University of Minnesota, USA)
(UK and Ireland)
—Albinism Fellowship of Australia
A support group/forum for people living with albinism in Australia
—The Albino Foundation (Nigeria & USA)
—Asociación de Ayuda a Personas con Albinismo [Aid Association to Persons with Albinism] (Spain)
—Organización Latinoamericana de Albinismo [Latin-American Albinism Organization] (Mexico)
(US-based)

Other

by Pieter Hugo

Albinism in animals

(Corydoras paleatus
Corydoras paleatus

Corydoras paleatus is a species of catfish of the family Callichthyidae. Its common names include peppered cat, pepper cory or salt & pepper cory....
)
(Geochelone carbonaria)