Red Hair of Pathological Origin
Most red hair is caused by the MC1R gene and is non-pathological. However, in rare cases red hair can be associated with disease or genetic disorder:
- In cases of severe malnutrition, normally dark human hair may turn red or blonde. The condition, part of a syndrome known as kwashiorkor, is a sign of critical starvation caused chiefly by protein deficiency, and is common during periods of famine.
- One variety of albinism (Type 3, aka rufous albinism), sometimes seen in Africans and inhabitants of New Guinea, results in red hair and red-colored skin.
- Red hair is found on people lacking pro-opiomelanocortin.
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Famous quotes containing the words red, hair, pathological and/or origin:
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Troy passed away in one high funeral gleam,
And Usnas children died.”
—William Butler Yeats (18651939)
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—William Shakespeare (15641616)
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—Hans Magnus Enzensberger (b. 1929)
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—Charles Sanders Peirce (18391914)