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Harlequin Ichthyosis Research Paper

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Harlequin Type Ichthyosis
Harlequin type ichthyosis is a disease inherited by recessive traits that is effective in newborns. Infants born with Harlequin ichthyosis are covered in thick plate-like scales of skin. The tightness of the skin pulls around the eyes and the mouth, forcing the eyelids and lips to turn inside out, revealing the red inner linings. The chest and abdomen of the infant are severely restricted by the tightness of the skin, making breathing and eating difficult. The hands are typically small, swollen, and partially flexed. The ears may appear to be misshapen or missing, but are really fused to the head by the thick skin. Around 1 in 25,000 people suffer from harlequin ichthyosis. The disease has been was first discovered …show more content…

The parents of an affected baby are carriers and will have a one in four risk of any future baby of that they decide to have being similarly affected. Harlequin ichthyosis cannot be prevented but it is possible to diagnose or recognize it early in pregnancy by removing some of the amniotic fluid that is surrounding the developing fetus to identify if there is a mutation in ABCA12. It is also likely that pre-implantation diagnosis may be available in the near future. Pre-implantation testing is a way to look even earlier into the genes of the developing embryo. In pre-implantation diagnosis a normally fertile couple will choose to undergo in-vitro fertilization and then test each of the embryos for a genetic disease, in this case harlequin ichthyosis, before they are transferred to the mother’s womb. Pre-implantation diagnosis is difficult, costly and not widely available, but is still an exciting possibility. The finding of a gene for harlequin ichthyosis may also allow development in the future of a specific treatment to replace the missing protein in the upper layers of the skin in this disease. The main characteristics of harlequin ichthyosis include thickening of the keratin layer in fetal human skin. A baby born with this skin related medical condition will possess very hard, thick skin which covers the most portions of the body. The skin contains large scales shaped like diamonds, which tend to have a red, pinkish color. The condition also usually involves abnormal contractions of the ears, eyes, and the movement of legs and arms is usually limited due to the condition. In some cases the condition may also involve restricted movement of the chest, which usually ends in lots of different breathing difficulties that often resort in respiratory failure. Normal skin folds easily, but the skin of an infant affected by harlequin ichthyosis develops cracks at those areas of the body. Various

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