Bloom's Syndrome is also related with sunlight exposure by skin color changes becoming much more evident in sun exposed areas, but also with other more severe problems such as respiratory illness, susceptibility to cancers, and short stature. Bloom's occurs due to fragmented chromosomes. Bloom's patients therefore should avoid environmental exposures that precipitate chromosome fragility such as x-rays and chemotherapy. Another set of conditions that require protection from UV rays are albinism and vitiligo. Albinism is a group of inherited conditions with little or total absence of pigment in their eyes, skin or hair.
All forms have vision problems while some additionally have skin and hair problems.
Although most have blue eyes, the color of the iris can also be red, violet, hazel, or even brown. The more understood form of albinism is due to lack of an enzyme called tyrosinase which is needed to produce pigment, namely melanin. The inheritance of the disease is usually in an autosomal recessive fashion, meaning both parents must carry the defective gene to have a child with albinism. Since the body has two sets of genes an asymptomatic person can have normal pigmentation and yet carry the defective gene. If parents previously had a child with albinism, genetic testing and counseling is possible via amniocentesis which consists of placing a needle into the uterus for a fluid sample.