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Mitochondrial diseases can be shitty, shitty things - I have multiple siblings with untreatable and debilitating effects from it. I didn't know they could even
by throwaway3425 12y ago
Mitochondrial diseases can be shitty, shitty things - I have multiple siblings with untreatable and debilitating effects from it.
I didn't know they could even do this (technically), so this news gave me tears of joy.
I am lucky on two counts, to be male (can't pass it on) and also not (yet) had any symptoms myself. It must be horrible for any female who has to decide whether having kids is worth passing those risks on to their offspring.
- arethuza 12y agoBBC Radio 4 had an interview with the mother of a kid suffering from these kinds of problems yesterday and, as a parent, it nearly had me in tears. They had some daft Conservative MP on as well trying a "slippery slope" argument but he completely missed the point about it being mitochondrial DNA so sounded, at least to me, rather silly.
- aroch 12y agoOut of curiosity, presumably your mother knew she had defective mitochondria so why did she elect to have children?
- throwaway3425 12y agoNope. The ability to diagnose it is pretty new; it went undiagnosed in my oldest sibling until age 12 or so. Not for lack of trying; they just couldn't figure out what it was until then. The effects vary wildly based on where the "bad" mitochondria are distributed throughout your organs, so there's no one thing to look for. Even though she carries it, my mother didn't develop any symptoms herself until well after her children did. She once told me she wouldn't have had children if she'd known she carried it. I'd make the same choice if I were female.