Albinism in humans Albinism in humans Albinism is a congenital disorder characterized in humans by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. Albinism is associated with a number of vision defects, such as photophobia, nystagmus, and amblyopia. Lack of skin pigmentation makes for more susceptibility to sunburn and skin cancers. In rare cases such as Chédiak–Higashi syndrome, albinism may be associated with deficiencies in the transportation of melanin granules. This also affects essential granules present in immune cells leading to increased susceptibility to infection. Albinism results from inheritance of recessive gene alleles and is known to affect
Adult polyglucosan body disease People with adult polyglucosan body disease typically first experience signs and symptoms related to the condition between ages 30 and 60. APBD is an autosomal recessive disorder that is caused when a person inherits genes from both parents containing one or more loss-of-function mutations in the gene "GBE1" which encodes for glycogen branching enzyme, also called 1,4-alpha-glucan-branching enzyme. The "GBE1" gene provides instructions for making the glycogen branching enzyme. This enzyme is involved in the production of a complex sugar called glycogen, which is a major source of stored energy in the body. Most "GBE1" gene mutations result in a