What is the life expectancy of a child with mitochondrial disease?
Table of Contents
What is the life expectancy of a child with mitochondrial disease?
A small study in children with mitochondrial disease examined the patient records of 221 children with mitochondrial disease. Of these, 14% died three to nine years after diagnosis. Five patients lived less than three years, and three patients lived longer than nine years.
What happens to someone with mitochondrial disease?
Mitochondrial disease can cause a vast array of health concerns, including fatigue, weakness, metabolic strokes, seizures, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, developmental or cognitive disabilities, diabetes mellitus, impairment of hearing, vision, growth, liver, gastrointestinal, or kidney function, and more.
Are mitochondrial disorders fatal?
If a lot of Mitochondria in the body are affected, especially in important body organs, mitochondrial disease can be very serious and often fatal.
How long do adults live with mitochondrial disease?
Typically, the age of death is between 10 to 35 years, although some patients may live longer. Death may come as a result of general body wasting due to progressive dementia and muscle weakness, or complications from other affected organs such as heart or kidneys.
Why are mitochondrial diseases only inherited from the mother?
There is a 50% chance that each child in the family will inherit a mitochondrial disease. Mitochondrial inheritance: In this unique type of inheritance, the mitochondria contain their own DNA. Only mitochondrial disorders caused by mutations in the mitochondrial DNA are exclusively inherited from mothers.
How do people get mitochondrial disease?
Mitochondrial diseases are not contagious, and they are not caused by anything a person does. They’re caused by mutations, or changes, in genes — the cells’ blueprints for making proteins.
Can a father pass along a mitochondrial gene disorder?
Fathers Can Pass Mitochondrial DNA to Children Researchers identify unique cases in which people inherited mitochondrial DNA not just from their mother but also from their father.
