Inheriting ichthyosis

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Lucy11
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Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:52 pm
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by Lucy11 on Mon May 09, 2022 3:57 pm

Inheriting ichthyosis

How likely is it to have children with ichthyosis if one of the parents have it? Does it make a difference on either the male or female side?

Dr Anna Martinez
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by Dr Anna Martinez on Mon May 09, 2022 4:05 pm

Re: Inheriting ichthyosis

some forms of ichthyosis are autosomal dominantly inherited so a parent will have ichthyosis so then there is 50% chance of passing it on whether its a girl or boy- If you have ichthyosis please ask your dermatologist to refer you to a clinical geneticist to discuss this in detail with you

Edel O' Toole
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by Edel O' Toole on Mon May 09, 2022 4:29 pm

Re: Inheriting ichthyosis

If the affected parent has a recessive form of ichthyosis eg lamellar/ARCI/non-bullous ichthyosiform erythroderma/harlequin ichthyosis then the affected parent will have 2 copies of the gene with the mistake or mutation. All of the affected parent's children will be carriers ie will inherit one copy of the gene with the mutation but because it is recessive they will not be affected.

If the person with ichthyosis has a partner who is related to them (for example a cousin) or comes from an area where there is a small community eg an island or a rural village/area it is possible that an unaffected partner might be a carrier (one copy of the gene with a mutation). There would then be a 50% chance of having a child with the same type of recessive ichthyosis in each pregnancy.

Edel O' Toole
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by Edel O' Toole on Mon May 09, 2022 4:34 pm

Re: Inheriting ichthyosis

In answer to the question re male or female - in the recessive ichthyoses it does not matter if the affected parent is male or female.

In X-linked recessive ichthyosis, the affected gene is on the X chromosome. The mother is a carrier with one normal gene on one X chromosome and one abnormal gene on the other X chromosome. If she has a baby boy, there is a 50% chance that boy will be affected. If she has a baby girl, there is a 50% chance that girl will be a carrier like her.

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