Albinism

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very slight pigmentation, and generally less severe visual difficulties.
Tests were done on the hair roots of individuals with albinism, to tell these
types of albinism apart. However, these hair tests cannot identify types of
albinism, particularly in young children, whose pigment systems are immature.
Therefore hair tests are not helpful in predicting the extent of visual
disability of a child.
"Ty-Neg" (also called Type 1A) albinism results from a genetic defect in
an enzyme called tyrosinase. Tyrosinase helps the body to change the amino acid
tyrosine into pigment. The genetic defect that causes albinism in other types of
albinism is unknown, but it is speculated that it involves other enzymes used to
make pigment.
Albinism is passed from parents to their children through genes. For
nearly all types of albinism both parents must carry an albinism gene to have a
child with albinism. Parents may have normal pigmentation but still carry the
gene. When both parents carry the gene, ...

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