Geneticists share the family jewels: how inbreeding has contributed to understanding hereditary skin disease.
BACKGROUND: Offspring resulting from consanguineous marriages have been important in advancing research in genodermatoses. OBJECTIVE: The concepts of consanguinity and inbreeding are reviewed and their contributions to research in hereditary skin diseases explained. METHODS: Examples are given in which inbred individuals with hereditary skin disease have increased our knowledge of skin disease genetics. RESULTS: An enhanced understanding of the genetics of xeroderma pigmentosum, lamellar ichthyosis, and Werner's syndrome, among others, has arisen from the observation of populations and families in which inbreeding has occurred. CONCLUSION: Populations practicing inbreeding and consanguineous marriages in generally outbred populations have provided important observations for determining the inheritance pattern of several genodermatoses and for identifying the responsible genes.