A Rare Case Of Coexistence Of Albinism With Schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is an autosomal recessive disorder defined by little to no melanin production in the eyes, skin, and hair, and is extremely rare, affecting 0.005% of the world’s population.Schizophrenia is a mental illness affecting approximately 1% of the world’s population, and is characterized by behavior such as disorganized thinking and speech, delusions, hallucinations,etc.It was previously hypothesized that Schizophrenia could be caused by a defect in melatonin metabolism, leading to increased melanin production and the production of hallucinogenic agent. However, this implies that albinos would be protected against schizophrenia (since they have little to no melanin production). AIM: To discuss coexistence of Schizophrenia in a albino female. METHODOLOGY: (CASE REPORT): A 38yr old married albino female presented to OPD with poor personal care,suspiciousness towards family members,irritability,frequent anger outbursts, sleep disturbances for past 3yrs. On detailed exploration,patient was found to have Delusion of persecution and reference.Her routine blood investigations and neuroimaging were within normal limits.She was diagnosed as a case of Paranoid Schizophrenia by the treating consultant and was started on Oral Olanzapine 20mg/day and Tab Clonazepam 0.5 mg hs.Her symptoms improved (PANSS decreased from 83 to 40) within span of 3 months. CONCLUSION: Based on our case report and previous case reports in the literature we have reviewed, we can reject the schizophrenia-melatonin hypothesis, as it has been shown on multiple occasions that albinos can be schizophrenic.