Albinism, Partial Albinism, and Vitiligo

Albinism, partial albinism, and vitiligo are three clinically distinct conditions having in common a deficiency of melanin pigment. As such they present the physician with the same basic problems-cosmetically disfiguring lesions and extreme sensitivity to sunlight of the involved areas. None of the diseases is itself an immediate threat to life, but the social disabilities, especially among dark-skinned individuals, are of great magnitude. Each disorder has been well known for over a century, and many detailed case reports are on record. Vitiligo, being by far the most common of the three, has received the greatest amount of attention. Albinism and partial albin-ism, because of their obvious characteristics, have received their share of study, especially from geneticists. To our knowledge, however, there has not been an attempt to correlate the available information on the three conditions. This is the purpose of the present report. Albinism and vitiligo were dealt with extensively elsewhere,9"'' and new material will be confined to the first published example of a nevus from a human albino. Partial albinism is less well known and will be described in more detail. A new family pedigree-only the seventh to be reported in the United States-will be presented, and for the first time a histological study will be reported. Finally, the pertinent information will be summarized in table form for convenient reference. ALBINISM Clinical manifestations. Albinism is the best known and most adequately studied of the various disorders of pigmentation. In its classical form it is unmistakable, because from birth the individual is completely devoid of melanin in all tissues where this pigment is normally present-skin, hair, and eyes. However, many albinos are capable of a very limited degree of pigment formation, particularly as they grow older. From the standpoint of