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Adermatoglyphia Research Paper

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Adermatoglyphia: No Fingerprints?

Fingerprints are usually fully formed by the 24th week of a pregnancy. Each one has a different pattern such as a whorl, loop, or an arch. No two fingerprints are alike, even identical twins don’t have the same fingerprints. The true purpose for fingerprints is unknown, but they are useful for identifying people ranging from crime scenes to crossing the border.

Dermatoglyph's are the ridges that make up fingerprints and footprints (GHR, 2016). Adermatoglyphia is a disorder that not only causes the absence of those ridges but also reduces the levels of sweat glands in the skin (Elvidge, 2011). Only four families (bloodlines) in the world have been affected by this disorder. Only one of those families is on the record for …show more content…

Her face matched her passport picture, but when her hands were scanned they realized she had no fingerprints! After this event, a dermatologist named Peter Itin gave this genetic disorder the nickname “Immigration delay Disease”. Sixteen of the Swiss woman’s relatives DNA was compared to see if the cause was genetic. Nine of them had the “disease” and seven of them did not. Eventually, a team of scientists searched through rare DNA transcripts and Janna Nousbeck realized part of the sequence overlapped near an autosomal dominant gene called “SMARCAD1”. It is located on chromosome 4 at position 22.3 and causes a mutation that affects the folding of skin during fetal development. Because this gene has an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern, only one of the two parents would need to have an altered copy of the SMARCAD1 gene in order for the child to express it. Terry Reed is molecular geneticist that said he isn’t sure if SMARCAD1 is responsible for all patients that don’t have fingerprints, but it’s “gratifying to at least see a gene identified for this condition” (Villacorta,

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