Autosomal dominant inheritance

Our DNA and genetic disorders

Genetic conditions occur due to variants or spelling mistakes in our DNA. Everyone of us will have spelling mistakes and sometimes these run in families, for most of us these cause
no problems. It is when the spelling mistake is in an important gene which has an important job in the body that it can result in problems or disease.

Autosomal Dominant Conditions

We all have two copies of every gene, one from our mother and one from our father. Someone with an autosomal dominant condition has a genetic variant on one copy of the gene, whilst the other copy is normal

Most autosomal dominant conditions occur in the child, and this is usually because of a new variant occurring at conception of that pregnancy- unless the parent
themselves is affected in which case the variant is inherited. In these disorders only one copy of the genetic variant is needed to cause the condition.

Where a parent is a carrier there is a 50% chance of children (male or female) being affected.

Autosomal dominant inheritance

The image above shows the inheritance of genes from parents to their children and the resulting combination of genes the child will have. Red represents the genetic variant; blue represents the normal copy of the gene.

The line from each parent shows which gene they pass on to their child. The colours of the individuals tell the effect of the genes they have, red means they will be at risk of being affected, blue means they will not be at risk of being affected

Alex, The Leukodystrophy Charity (Alex TLC)

A charity that provides invaluable support and information to people affected by leukodystrophy. Established in 2004 we are an internationally recognised centre of excellence and the only UK charity providing support and information to people affected by any of the leukodystrophy conditions worldwide. We are here to support you and your family throughout your leukodystrophy journey.