Adermatoglyphia
Adermatoglyphia is an extremely rare genetic disorder that prevents the development of fingerprints. Five extended families worldwide are known to be affected by this condition.Case study
In 2007 an isolated finding was published regarding the description of a person from Switzerland who lacked fingerprints. The phenotype was mapped to chromosome 4q22. In the splice-site of a 3' exon of the gene for SMARCAD1-helicase, a point mutation was detected. It results in a shortened form of the skin-specific protein. The heterozygous mode of mutation suggests an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance.
Other conditions can cause a lack of fingerprints, but unlike them, adermatoglyphia has no side effects. Mutations in helicases are involved in other rare genetic diseases, such as Werner syndrome.
