Albinism News and Research

RSS

Albinism is a condition marked by reduced production of melanin, the pigment that provides color to the hair, skin, and eyes of an individual. It is an inherited condition with the signs present from the birth of an infant.

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome can cause debilitating lung disease in Puerto Ricans

A hereditary condition called Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) can cause bleeding problems, low vision, albinism and, in some patients, a debilitating lung disease.

21 Sep 2015

Research finding could inspire new ideas for treating type 2 oculocutaneous albinism

Newly published research provides the first demonstration of how a genetic mutation associated with a common form of albinism leads to the lack of melanin pigments that characterizes the condition.

17 Dec 2014

Envision Conference 2014 kicks off with presentation of two prestigious awards

Envision announced today that Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., a San Fernando Valley, Calif.-based medical device manufacturer, and Janet Sunness, M.D., Medical Director of Richard E. Hoover Low Vision Rehabilitation Services at Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Towson, Md., were named the 2014 recipients, respectively, of the Envision Oculus Award and Envision Award in Low Vision Research, two prestigious honors acknowledging substantial contributions to furthering research and facilitating collaborative efforts toward addressing low vision and the conditions that cause it.

19 Sep 2014

Pediatric blindness etiology varies around the globe

The causes and prevalence of blindness in children vary markedly by geography, presumably as a proxy for socioeconomic factors influencing prevention and treatment schemes, conclude the authors of a literature review.

15 Feb 2013

Zebrafish model can test unique individual genetic differences in humans

The zebrafish is a potential tool for testing one class of unique individual genetic differences found in humans, and may yield information helpful for the emerging field of personalized medicine, according to a team led by Penn State College of Medicine scientists. The differences, or mutations, in question create minor changes in amino acids -- the building blocks of DNA -- from person to person.

26 Oct 2012