yemenite deaf-blind hypopigmentation syndrome yemenite deaf-blind hypopigmentation syndrome yemenite deaf-blind hypopigmentation syndrome is a condition caused by a mutation on the sry-related hmg-box gene 10 (not sox10). yemenite deaf-blind hypopigmentation syndromeother nameswarburg-thomsen syndrome it was characterized in 1990, after being seen in two siblings from yemen who presented with a "hitherto undescribed association of microcornea, colobomata of the iris and choroidea, nystagmus, severe early hearing loss, and patchy hypo- and hyperpigmentation." some sources affirm sox10 involvement.