Ichthyosis vulgaris

The term ‘ichthyosis,’ derived from the ancient Greek root ? ? ? ? ? (ichthys) meaning ‘fish’, is used to describe a heterogeneous group of keratinization disorders characterized by generalized scaling of the skin. Ichthyosis vulgaris (IV) is the most common form of ichthyosis. It has been considered to be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait but recent work on the role of filaggrin gene (FLG) mutations in this condition suggests that it is inherited in a ‘semi-dominant’ manner in which one FLG mutation causes a mild phenotype, but two mutations (either homozygous or compound heterozygous) lead to a more pronounced expression of the disorder (Oji and Traupe 2009). Recently another genetic locus for ichthyosis vulgaris in two Chinese families was found on chromosome 10q22.3-q24.2 (Liu et al. 2008). There was no association of their ichthyosis with the filaggrin gene.