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Hypermobility

Inheritance patterns and prenatal diagnosis

Inheritance patterns
As in most of the Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue the pattern of inheritance for the Benign Joint Hypermobility syndrome is autosomal dominant. This means that fifty per cent of the offspring may carry the gene for the condition. In the BJHS this does not imply that they will inherit any particular set of symptoms, since many affected people have no ill effects at all. It used to be thought that Hypermobility simply represented the upper end of the normal distribution of joint laxity. This view has been challenged as increasing evidence emerges to suggest that it is also a genetic connective tissue disorder, (albeit a relatively mild one) in its own right.

Prenatal diagnosis
If a genetic form of Hypermobility is known to affect members of a family, referral for genetic advice or counselling should be sought.

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Medical text written October 2001 by Professor Rodney Grahame. Last updated October 2006 by Professor Rodney Grahame, Emeritus Professor Rheumatology, University College London, London, UK and Dr Nathan Hasson, Paediatric Rheumatologist, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.

 

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