Albinos characteristics. How are albinos different?

Albino people are strange and unusual individuals for our society, meeting them always leaves a feeling of some mystery, the presence of something otherworldly and incredible.

External signs of albinos

By external signs These people are distinguished by their transparent pale skin color, overly sensitive to sunlight, colorless eyelashes and snow-white hair.

The reason for this anomaly lies in the absence of melanin in the body, a special protective enzyme. For this reason, the skin of albinos is subjected to merciless effects. sun rays, which can cause many dangerous diseases. This deviation, inherent at the genetic level, can be either partial (with selective spotting skin), and complete, which is most often found among the Indians of Mexico, Arizona, North American blacks and residents of Sicily. Manifested at birth, albinism remains in a person’s life forever.

Besides too light skin, the eyes of an albino human are stunning with their redness. WITH scientific point In terms of vision, this oddity can be explained by light rays refracted at a certain angle passing through the red eye vessels. In fact, most of these strange people the eyes are gray or light blue, less often purple and green.

Causes of albinism

The causes of albinism are:

• heredity;
• complications after illnesses.

This anomaly is divided into 10 groups, the most common of which are I and II.

Albino people of group I are characterized by white hair and skin. Because of this, they have a high risk of developing skin cancer. More distinctive feature people in this category are poor eyesight. Their eyes constantly twitch with ease.

Albinos of group II have skin color from yellowish to pink, which becomes lighter in old age.

Physical characteristics of mysterious people

Albinos often have very weak immune systems, and their unusual appearance is not the only thing that distinguishes them from the rest. There are a number of other properties inherent in these outlandish representatives of humanity.

They do not tolerate daylight well, for which they are considered accomplices of dark forces. Albinos are people whose reasons for existence are laid down at the genetic level and have nothing to do with otherworldly forces. Defective vision is caused by the lack or absence of pupil pigment, so many of them are not even able to drive.

Along the way, insufficient vision entails complications such as:

• photophobia - fear of light;
• astigmatism - a violation of the shape of the lens, cornea and eye;
• tremor - shaking of the head.

Consequences of albinism

If the anomaly manifests itself in a severe form, then strabismus, myopia (nearsightedness) and a significant decrease in vision (up to its loss) may occur. Albinos have only 20% vision by the age of 18. Quite often, people with red eyes (albinos) become victims of erroneous diagnosis by doctors who detect atrophy in patients optic nerve due to the similarity of symptoms: pale fundus and poor vision. In most cases, atrophy in patients is not confirmed.

In addition to poor vision, albinos also have hearing problems. These people have bleeding disorders and short stature. Studies conducted in Tanzania showed that all albino children have skin defects in the first year of life; For every 9-year-old child, one person will develop cancer. Less than 2% of albinos live to be 40 years old in Tanzania.

Treatment of albinism

Treatment of albinism is unsuccessful, since replenishing the lack of melanin and preventing visual impairment is impossible. The patient is advised to avoid exposure to the sun and use all kinds of protective equipment when going outside. Sometimes applicable surgical intervention, to restore the extraocular muscles in case of existing strabismus. The emerging pathological transformations of the retina and optic nerve usually cannot be eliminated.

Who are albinos?

So, who are these incomprehensible and mysterious people - albinos? What is the nature of their origin? Why are albinos born?

The concept of "albino" was introduced into our lexicon the Portuguese Francisco Baltazar, the founder of Philippine literature, mistakenly considered “white Africans” to be the result of marriages between Europeans and the local population. Although Europeans themselves learned about albinos from the stories of the Spanish knight Hernan Fernando Cortes, who lived in the 15th century, after his trip to North America. The latter claimed that the palace of Emperor Montezuma had a special room for the "white creatures" brought during solar eclipses as a sacrifice to the gods. Nobody wanted to admit that albinos are people! Photos and other images of these unfortunates have been preserved for us by history.

One English pirate, whose name remains unknown, described in his memoirs his impressions of a long stay on the Isthmus of Panama, where he had the opportunity to meet people with an unusual milky-white skin color. This amazed the Englishman so much that he turned to the leader of the tribe with a question about the unusual appearance of these people. The answer received sounded mystical and spoke of the power of imagination of the expectant mother, who at the moment of conception looks at the Moon.

Myths about albino people

The existence of these abnormal people in nature is surrounded by a sufficient number of myths, according to which albinos are:

• the result of a curse;
• infectious carriers of the disease. Since ancient times, albinos were avoided, trying to keep a distance from them; children with signs of albinism were often not accepted into schools and were not allowed to play with their peers;
• sterile (not capable of having children);
• developmentally delayed.

Albinos are a gift from heaven

Albinos have always been such intriguing personalities that they have been endowed with all sorts of magical properties. It was believed that these creatures could predict the future, fly through the air, sleep with with open eyes, while remembering and seeing everything that happens around, read the thoughts of strangers, turn water into blood, destroy at a distance. In the eyes of those around them, they were angels who descended to earth, capable of healing with just one touch and able to read other people's thoughts.

Albino people were such a curiosity in society that they even served as exhibits in traveling circuses, causing various reactions those around you: from absolute rejection to the deepest admiration. Albinos are beautiful people, it is difficult not to notice them in the crowd. They easily captivate with some deep internal magnetism. But they are often feared, masking fear under ridicule. And this causes people suffering from albinism to feel excluded from society, lonely and rejected.

Hunting for Albino People

Albinos are people! The photos demonstrate that they are radically different from others, but this is not a reason to ridicule or discriminate against them. Unfortunately, this was not always the case. In the Middle Ages, they were declared assistants of the devil and burned at the stake.

Representatives African population were confident in the miraculous properties various parts the bodies of albinos (including the most sought after ones - the genitals). With their help, they hoped to gain luck and wealth, to be cured of various diseases, and therefore hunted “white people” in every possible way. On the black market, for one hand, which an albino black man loses, you can get more than 1 thousand dollars, which is slightly more than the annual salary of the inhabitants of this country.

Blonde albino hair woven into fishing nets is considered an effective bait for catching fish. The earth, sprinkled with the ashes of albinos burned at the stake, according to some beliefs, will itself begin to bring gold to the surface and indicate the location of the gold-bearing vein. The African belief that an albino Negro dissolves into thin air after death forces the curious to test this in practice and pushes them to commit a crime against a harmless person.

The bloody hunt for albinos was practically not punished; V best case scenario they were considered "missing in action." But brutal crimes in Tanzania have forced local authorities to at least begin to take measures to protect the country's unusual residents. The first trial occurred in 2009. For the murder and molestation of a 14-year-old boy, his punishers were hanged. But the bloody hunters simply invented more sophisticated hunting methods. Now they began to simply cut off the limbs of their victims, leaving them alive. The last 3 years have been sad for 90 albinos, whose killers lost their arms and legs.

Protecting Albino People

The modern world has changed little in the lives of these mysterious people: they are still outcasts from society; An albino Negro, born into a dark-skinned family, is considered inferior from the very moment of birth. Even in these days the poor people are forced to hide in guarded boarding houses specially created for their protection. This is especially true for Africa, in particular Tanzania, where last years More than 20 people became victims of superstitions. Albinos are forced to create public organizations, aimed at protecting against discrimination and prejudice against unusual skin color and light hair. The governments of a number of countries, trying to provide support to albinos, provide them with humanitarian aid and sponsor research papers. In countries with hot climates, measures to prevent skin cancer are actively promoted. Albinos are advised to use sunglasses, sunscreen, wear long sleeves; Children under 3 years of age are generally advised to avoid exposure to sunlight as much as possible.

In Africa, it is planned to organize a network of medical institutions that, in parallel with providing medical care will provide counseling services to parents who have albino children. Such clinics have already been established in Tanzania.

In the United States, the Organization of Representatives of Albinism and Hypopigmentism (OPAG), otherwise known as the “Union of the Colorless,” is fighting for the rights of albinos. Annual conferences are held at which all the difficulties and difficult moments in the lives of people in this category are discussed.

Statistics

According to average statistics, one albino is born for every 20 thousand people. If we consider this issue from a territorial point of view, we can observe that albinism is most common among the indigenous inhabitants of the Panama coast - the Kuna Indians, whose total number is about 50 thousand people. For every 150 people they have 1 albino. This is the most high rate in the world. It is interesting to note that the albinism gene is actually quite common in society: one in 70 people is a latent carrier.

Most often, albinos (the people whose photos are presented in the article are their most prominent representatives) are born to Africans. In addition to genetic factors, this can also be explained by marriages between relatives characteristic of Africa. If the parents have different types albinism, then there is a possibility of having a normal healthy child.

If you are not like everyone else, in a primitive society, you are a target. For example, in Tanzania In recent years, more than 20 albinos have been killed.

Here are the facts about albinism, along with photographs:

Albinos in Tanzania became victims of beliefs and superstitions, according to which the skin, meat and bones of albinos can be successfully used to treat all sorts of diseases. These rumors are sometimes deliberately spread by local healers and have gradually begun to spread in neighboring Kenya.. In Israel, there was a case of granting asylum to a refugee family from Cote d’Ivoire, in which an albino girl was born.

Treatment for albinism is unsuccessful. It is impossible to compensate for the lack of melanin or prevent visual impairment associated with albinism.

It is important for albinos to avoid sun exposure and use light-protective means when going outside: filters, Sunglasses or darkened lenses. Usually similar functions performed by melanin.

Griffin - main character in H.G. Wells's novel The Invisible Man - an albino.

Sometimes albinos need surgery, particularly to correct the extraocular muscles for strabismus, which is common in albinos.

In general, albinos have vision problems, such as nystagmus - involuntary oscillating movements eye high frequency(up to several hundred per minute).

Albinos are also characterized by the lack of pigmentation of the iris (usually gray-blue or light brown) and its transparency.

The red color of the eyes of albino animals is the color of the blood in the vessels of their retina. Albino people have red eyes very rarely; as a rule, a person’s eye always contains a shading pigment, usually coloring the iris pale blue or yellowish.

Due to hypersensitivity of the skin to the light of the sun, among albinos it is observed increased risk development of malignant tumors.

In the Middle Ages, albino people were burned at the stake because they were considered to be helpers of the devil.

Statistics say that “colorless” ones are born 6 times more often among blacks than among Europeans. For every 3,000 black offspring there is 1 albino.

The albinism gene is recessive. This means that when an unusual child is born, the gene is present in both parents.

People with albinism live long and healthy life just like others. The biggest danger for them is skin cancer, which develops more easily due to exposure to solar radiation.

People with albinism synthesize vitamin D five times faster than people with albinism. dark skin. Since vitamin D is produced when ultra-violet rays Spectrum B light reaches the skin, the lack of pigmentation means that light penetrates much more easily.

On average, 1 in 17,000 people have some form of albinism. In men, ocular albinism is more common - the absence of pigment in the eyes.

One of the most serious types of albinism is known as Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome. People with this disorder are prone to bleeding, bruising, and lung problems.

Some people born with less severe forms of albinism have white hair and skin that darken slightly as they age.

Scientists can test whether parents have the albinism gene by seeing whether they produce hair follicle melanin.

Rare people who stand out from the crowd attract attention. Someone is afraid of them because they are guided by the instinct of safety. And someone is interested in their features. Albinos are not like other people, which makes their deviation both a punishment and a gift. Especially this phenomenon its symptoms are clearly manifested in blacks (albino black)..

Who is an albino? This is a person who has a deviation that is clearly visible. His body is completely devoid of melanin, the pigment that gives the iris, skin and hair a certain color. Depending on the amount of this pigment, the color becomes pale or dark. U healthy person melanin may be present in small quantities. However, you can increase its production by spending some time in the sun, when vitamin D is produced.

The main cause of albinism is a hereditary predisposition when the body does not produce sufficient quantity melanin. This is due to inactivation of tyrosinase.

This disease is not something new. He was still known in Ancient Rome and Greece. It is noted that this deviation is observed not only in humans, but also in animals. White tigers, white spiders, white pandas, white wolves, etc. Scientists do not call albinism a disease. Rather, it is a deviation from the norm, which does not prevent other functions of the body from working at full capacity.

The living organism continues to remain healthy and strong. There are simply some recommendations that those with albinism should follow.

Albinism occurs on average in 1 case per 20,000 people. This figure varies in different regions. It remains noteworthy that the parents of an albino can be absolutely healthy: they have pigmentation of the skin, hair and eyes.

Parents should be more humane towards their albino children. Their children will have to become objects of ridicule and misunderstanding. To resist outside pressure, you must be strong in spirit and psyche. If parents support their “unusual” child, then it is easier for him to cope with other people’s ridicule.

Causes of albinism

Albinism means “white” in Latin. main reason The appearance of albino people is the lack of pigment, which is responsible for the color of skin, hair and eyes. It's about about the absence of melanin, which means “black” in Greek.

Albinism develops from birth. It is a consequence of the absence of the enzyme tyrosinase in the body. The parents themselves can be absolutely healthy. However, their genes have a predisposition to this deviation. They themselves do not get sick, but are carriers. If both parents are carriers, then the children will definitely be born albinos.

In a healthy person, melanin is observed in different amounts. The more pigment, the darker the skin and hair color. Complete absence melanin indicates a lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes. Doctors are checking the cause of the abnormality. If the problem does not lie in the absence of the tyrosinase enzyme, then it is noted in gene mutations. This provokes the absence of another enzyme important for the synthesis of melanin - the enzyme.

There are several types of albinism. This affects how much melanin will be absent from the body, as well as what additional abnormalities will be observed. Why the production of enzymes is blocked is still unknown to science. However, this leads not only to a lack of color, but also to skin diseases, vision problems and neurological disorders.

The following diseases and disorders are noted:

• Skin cancer.
• Psychosis.
• Cataract.
• Depression.
• Neurosis.
• Sunburn.

Doctors note that children born with albinos are those whose parents have mutational sites in their genes. Both parents must have genetic abnormalities. If only one parent has the anomaly, then the child may be born healthy, but he will become a carrier of a mutation gene, which, when it meets another gene of the partner, will finally lead to albinism. This is called autosomal recessive inheritance.

People are wary of albinos because they don’t fully understand of this disease. Albinism cannot be contracted or transmitted by airborne droplets, through touch and other contacts. No matter how much you rub and kiss an albino, you will never become a white person. People are born as albinos and have them since childhood. distinctive features.

Signs of albinism

Albinos are quite easy to recognize - they have white skin, hair, and red eyes. Doctors note they additional diseases related to vision: astigmatism, myopia, nystagmus, farsightedness. What are the signs of albinism?

• The skin has a pale pink color. Capillaries are visible through it.
• Hair is brittle and soft. They are white or yellow in color.
• Visual problems. It is difficult to concentrate, follow, and control eye movements. Reduced depth visual perception, and photophobia also develops.
• The skin cannot tan because there is no melanin. It leads to sunburn, and in the absence of sunscreens and with prolonged exposure to the sun, skin cancer develops.
• The eyes are red due to the lack of pigment to cover the capillaries. This is a consequence of horizontal nystagmus and photophobia.

Albinism manifests itself in various forms. Common ones are:

1. Oculocutaneous, which is expressed in white skin and hair, which lasts for life. In more mild form this disease manifests itself in a white color, which becomes darker over the years, which is associated with aging.
2. Ocular, which appears less frequently than oculocutaneous. The pigment is absent only in the iris of the eye, while the hair and skin have color. Often observed various problems with vision.

Albinism is also divided into 3 types:

1. Partial. Inherent are pigmentation or brown spots on the face, stomach, legs, and hair with gray strands.
2. Total. Inherent are dry skin, hypertrichosis, hypotrichosis, actinic cheilitis, epithelioma, impaired sweating, keratoma, sunburn.
3. Incomplete. Hypopigmentation of hair, skin and iris is common.

Albino people have the following vision problems:

• Poor vision.
• Strabismus.
• Cataract.
• Oligophrenia.
• Microphthalmia.
• Nystagmus.
• Immunodeficiency.

Due to the lack of melanin in the skin, albinos quickly burn in the sun. This forces them to use sunscreen. By the way, albino animals also have to be protected special creams so that they don't get sick. Lack of sun protection leads to skin cancer, which affects albinos the most.

Albinos have poor vision, especially in daytime. They have daytime photophobia. As for the night, they can see very well, catching any glare.

Red eyes in albinos are most common in animals. Although people can have red eyes when there is no pigment that shades the capillaries.

In terms of health and ability to reproduce, albinos are no different from their healthy counterparts. They can only pass on mutation genes, but everything functions the same as in other people.

Negro albino

Albinos exist in all countries. However, if you take Africa, then the number of albinos will be much greater. An albino black is not a rare occurrence, most likely because people are forced to marry albinos. The standard of living and economics of many countries in Africa is low, people are not provided with assistance, so conditions force people to give birth a large number of children with anomalies.

An albino black man faces two main problems in life:

1. Ignorance of others, because of which he encounters ridicule and misunderstanding from others.
2. Harmful ultraviolet radiation that leads to skin cancer. You have to sit at home during the day or use sunscreens to protect your skin.

An albino black has the following symptoms of an anomaly:

• Hair that is yellow and stays that way forever or darkens slightly over the years.
• The skin is white.
• The eyes are gray-blue.
• Pigment spots on the skin.

This forces albinos of the Negroid race to fight for their own lives. Some people move to countries where they will not be significantly different from other people. Some hold demonstrations to defend their rights.

The life of albinos is full of danger. Almost all their lives they are faced with a misunderstanding of their environment. By the age of 18, they can lose their vision, and by 30, they can develop skin cancer. All this is supported by various beliefs of ignorant people who, out of their own fear, believe that albinos bring misfortune.

Lifespan

Albinos have a short lifespan. The hotter the country in which a person lives, the more risk cancer diseases. At the same time, the prognosis becomes disappointing, since the skin is not able to produce melanin, which would protect the skin from the development of cancer, as well as imperfect medicine, which is not able to cure cancer.

The life of albinos is complicated by misunderstanding on the part of others. When people don't understand, they are afraid, often alienating those who are different from them. However, albinos first of all have parents, who should become the main protectors and friends of their children. It is necessary to instill self-confidence so that albinos feel more comfortable defending themselves from ignorant people.

There is no cure for albinism. However, in order to prevent the development of this disease, you should first undergo genetic and medical consultations with the partner with whom you want to have a child, so that the combination of two mutation genes does not coincide.

Everything that differs from the generally accepted norm and our ideas about “black and white” always evokes different feelings - from wary interest to outright aggression and rejection. Albino people know this side of human nature better than anyone else. At the same time, from a scientific point of view, albinism is a rather curious phenomenon that has been thoroughly studied by scientists. The field of science that studies albinism is genetics, since this phenomenon is determined long before a person’s birth, during the combination of maternal and paternal genes at conception.

Albino children

What is albinism?

Albinism - from lat. albus - white - is a hereditary absence of melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin, hair, and iris. Melanin is a pigment found in the epidermal cells, hair and iris of the human eye. This pigment is also found in other mammals, birds, reptiles and insects, and is responsible for their unique coloring. Despite the fact that the name melanin (from the Latin melos - black) indicates dark color pigment, there are also brown, yellow and red types of this substance.

The main function of melanin in humans and animals is protective. It is synthesized in epidermal cells, hair and iris of the eyes in response to exposure to solar radiation. Black color is known to absorb ultraviolet radiation, neutralizing it harmful effects. A person’s color type largely depends on the amount of melanin. Red-haired people, blondes, representatives of the Nordic type at the genetic level produce less melanin than black-haired or brown-haired people, representatives of the Mediterranean type of appearance, as well as people of the Negroid race.

Albinos lack melanin completely, which is why a person’s appearance is specific. Albinism occurs among representatives of all races: Caucasians, Negroids, Mongoloids. In Africa, albino children (see photo) are born more often than on other continents: there is one albino per 3 thousand newborns. There are slight differences due to racial determinism. For example, albinos of the European type have completely white, milky-opal skin and snow-white hair. In African people, albinism is expressed in yellow hair color, and the skin can be not only white, but also grayish or light brown.

Why are people born albinos?

As has already been clarified, the issue is genetic mutations, as a result of which the body does not produce melanin. The mechanism of this phenomenon lies in disturbances in the synthesis of tyrosinase, an enzyme that causes the formation of dark pigment in melanocytes, the cells responsible for the production of melanin. Tyrosinase is based on copper; it reacts with oxygen in the form of two cations, causing it to darken.

Impaired production of tyrosinase is one of the main causes of albinism. But sometimes albino people(see photo) the body still produces this enzyme, which suggests that there are other factors for discoloration of the skin, hair and iris.

Scientifically, there are several types of albinism. Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is one of the most common in humans. It is characterized by the following symptoms:

• milky white skin, incapable of tanning;
• white or yellowish hair;
• light blue or transparent iris that allows light to pass through.

Due to the lack of melanin in the iris, the eyes appear blue because they do not absorb the visible part of ultraviolet radiation, reflecting it. With a transparent iris, the eyes of albino people (see photo) may look red because sunlight shines through blood vessels in the iris and cornea (a similar mechanism has the so-called red eye effect in a flash photo).

One of the dangers of albinism is the lack of natural protection against harmful effects ultraviolet. Because of this, many albinos are susceptible to malignant skin diseases. Unfortunately, the health problems associated with albinism do not end there.

In medicine, other deviations have been recorded that have an established connection with genetic mutation, causing disruption of melanin synthesis. Most often, albinos have extremely sensitive and vulnerable visual organs. Due to the lack of protection of the iris by dark pigment, photophobia is observed when a person cannot see in bright light. sunlight. Other visual defects are also observed:

• refractive errors (refraction of light in the lens);
• impaired focusing due to nystagmus (high-frequency involuntary eye vibrations);
• strabismus;
• astigmatism.

Very often, albinos experience another rather rare phenomenon associated with a genetic anomaly - heterochromia of the eye, in which the iris of the eyes has a different color. But the negligible amount of pigment in the iris makes heterochromia almost invisible.

But in the dark, the eyes of albinos perfectly capture light, thanks to which these people see much better in the evening and at night than others. Unfortunately, vision loss is quite early age- one of the common problems among albinos: up to 80% of them lose the ability to see normally by the age of 18-20.

What is it like to be an albino?

Albinism, in addition to health problems (susceptibility to skin cancer, decreased vision), forces albinos (see photo) to face other difficulties and limitations of a psychological nature. In the civilized world, despite freedom from superstitions, such people are still treated with caution and distrust. In various strata of society, the attitude towards albinos is inversely proportional to the level of education and enlightenment. Illiterate people are most likely to negative reaction to representatives with obvious differences from the norm. Because of this, albino children (photo) among their peers (at school) often become outcasts and objects of ridicule and bullying. In adult life problems of social isolation do not disappear, although when moving into social circles with more high level Educational negativity and alienation decreases.

Can albinism benefit a person? Yes. Today, rare and unique features and qualities in people, including appearance, are valued in the world of art and show business. There are several examples of fairly successful models among both women and men with albinism: Jewell Jeffrey, Nastya Zhidkova, Connie Chiu, Stephen Thompson and others. All of them are known for their combination of a unique genetic phenomenon and beautiful, harmonious facial features. But this exceptional cases, when albinism moves from the categories of defects to the category of aesthetics.

But all the fears and superstitions associated with albinos are unfounded. As a genetic abnormality, it cannot be transmitted by airborne or other means. Typically, albino people give birth to normal children, although in marriages where both parents are albino, the offspring also acquire this hereditary difference. For example, in India there lives a whole family of 10 people with albinism, thanks to which they were even included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Unfortunately, the lower the level of education in a country, the more hostile the attitude toward those who are different. For example, in some African countries (Tanzania, Kenya) being an albino is deadly. There are superstitions and occult beliefs associated with albinism. For example, it is believed that body parts, hair, and skin of an albino can serve as amulets, so there are frequent cases of hunting and killing albinos in order to obtain parts of their bodies for ritual actions. Only in recent years have official authorities African countries began to fight the persecutors of albinos (photo) . Thanks to the media, the case of the trial of the killers of an albino teenager in Tanzania, which ended in the execution of the criminals, gained wide publicity.

Human nature is such that on a subconscious level we perceive everything different and unusual with distrust and hostility. Nothing can be done about this, because here lies an evolutionary mechanism for protecting the species and survival, formed by nature over thousands of years. But in the age of unlimited access to information, we have powerful weapon from ignorance and its consequences - curiosity and love of science. People who are somehow different from us through no fault of their own are the same as us. They deserve, if not love, then respect for their rights and freedom as a person, individual, and person.