Medical Questions » Syndrome Questions » Question No. 978
| Question: | I have been told that a cousin has Klinefelter syndrome. Is this an hereditary problem that I should be worried about in my family? |
| Answer: | One in every 500 males is afflicted with BQinefelter' s syndrome. It is named after Harry Fitch Klinefelter, who practised as a physician in Baltimore, USA, until the 1990s. He described a condition in which males have very small testes and penis, develop small breasts, have scanty body hair and are impotent. These men are always sterile.
The syndrome is caused by an abnormality in the chromosomes that govern the activity of every cell. At the moment of conception when the sperm fuses with the egg, the chromosomes from the mother and father of these men combine incorrectly with two X chromosomes and one Y being present (XXY) instead of one of each (XY). Because every cell in the body is affected by the abnormal chromosomes, no cure is possible.
Testosterone (male hormone) tablets or injections can be given to improve the general body shape and impotence of the man, but the infertility cannot be corrected. Plastic surgery to remove the breasts is sometimes necessary.
Please be assured there is absolutely no chance of the condition being present in your family, as it is an error of fertilisation, not an inherited condition.
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