The Student Room Group

Genes and Being a Carrier

I have very limited understanding when it comes to biology and whatnot; the sciences were not my forte at school.

My question is, my mum has thrombophilia (factor V leiden). She's got hetero-whatever, I believe, ie it was passed on through only one of her parents. I had to have the screen eventually, which happened last year because I was going for an operation.

Basically my doctors haven't been the most useful regarding thrombophilia; it was a year before they told me the outcome of the screen, which was clear, and it was a nurse who didn't know much about thrombophilia who told me, so I couldn't really ask any questions.

Anyways, I figure someone on here will know some biology :wink: I'm not worried about myself because the screen was clear, but do I still carry the gene? If so, does this translate to my descendants?

I don't want to sound dramatic, I'm not like "Oh no, my future children!", and I'm sure any pregnancy will bring about my paranoia and 100 qs with it for my doctor, heh. But I can't get these qs answered at the hospital right now so I'm just trying my luck elsewhere for the time being :smile:
Reply 1
If your mum is heterozygous (has one normal and one diseased gene) for the condition, it does not even increase her risk of deep vein thrombosis that much. She is what is known as a carrier. If she was homozygous (had two diseased genes) it would double her risk - she would then be known as a sufferer. If your dad was not a sufferer or a carrier, you had a 1 in 2 (50:50)chance that you would also be heterozygous for the condition, but you could not have been born as an actual sufferer. If your screen came back clear, then that means they must have ruled out the possibility that you are a carrier so you cannot pass this disease on to your children. The person you have your babies with could if they were a sufferer or carrier, but that's another issue.

Edit: Sorry my biology was correct, my facts about DVT were not. Your mum has double the risk of DVT in her lifetime. If she were homozygous, it would increase her risk further.

Another edit!: Here is a good page which will explain in laymen's terms the biology of it all, if you have the patience to sit and scroll through it all. http://www.fvleiden.org/publications/genetics_thrombophilia.html
Reply 2
Lol yeah, I got the first bit just cos like... it's fact that she has it! Made ever so clear when she had a pulmonary embolism when I was 9...

Ahh k, so I'm not a carrier. Cool! Thanks for that, just couldn't seem to get answers from anyone. :smile:
Reply 3
No probs, glad you don't have to worry about it :smile:
Reply 4
Just think if every human was DNA tested for all these gentic problems we could clear them all out the human race with selective breeding! :eek: LOL

BTW I'm not in anyway suggesting it's ethical to do this LOL it's just how humans breed animals to make them healthier and clear out dentic disorders! LOL
Reply 5
foxiroxi
Just think if every human was DNA tested for all these gentic problems we could clear them all out the human race with selective breeding! :eek: LOL

BTW I'm not in anyway suggesting it's ethical to do this LOL it's just how humans breed animals to make them healthier and clear out dentic disorders! LOL


LOL what a hilarious Nazi you are LOL BTW WTF is dentic??! LOL

On a serious note it would be almost impossible to clear out genetic disorders, even with selective breeding, as random mutations occur in our bodies throughout our lives due to environmental factors and within a few generations could well have formed new genetic disorders. And you're wrong about the selective breeding in animals. Animals are selectively bred for desirable phenotypes such as coat colour, fur quality, athletic ability etc, very often at the expense of health, hence why a mongrel will be generally healthier and less susceptible to illness than a pedigree animal, 9 times out of 10. The Kennel Club is probably almost exclusively responsible for many of the genetic disorders found in dogs, e.g. epilepsy in boxers or hip dysplasia in retrievers. But they sure are purdy...
Reply 6
Jennybean
The Kennel Club is probably almost exclusively responsible for many of the genetic disorders found in dogs, e.g. epilepsy in boxers or hip dysplasia in retrievers.QUOTE]

HD is acctually bred out of dogs. Any dog with an above average hip score is not bred from by normal breeders these days. It does come up now and again (I own a bitch with a very high score, but her great great great grandparents had high scores) I also have a dog with PPC (cateracts) which the breed is just getting a DNA test for (golden retrivers already have a DNA test for this! :smile: ) plus I have a bitch who is a carrier of vWD. Aussie shepherds (Crufts BIS breed last year) are currently finding a DNA test for epilepsy to try and understand it more and to be able to stop breeding from dogs who have it

Not done too well to be honest since the two bitches we wanted to breed from.

I wouldn't blame the KC for this.

Now I would blame the dog show circles for poor breathing in bulldogs, short legs in dachies, not to mention the amount of problems with little chi's and yorkies!

Oh and breeding for colour? Only after conformation and health! :smile:
Reply 7
foxiroxi
Jennybean
The Kennel Club is probably almost exclusively responsible for many of the genetic disorders found in dogs, e.g. epilepsy in boxers or hip dysplasia in retrievers.


HD is acctually bred out of dogs. Any dog with an above average hip score is not bred from by normal breeders these days. It does come up now and again (I own a bitch with a very high score, but her great great great grandparents had high scores) I also have a dog with PPC (cateracts) which the breed is just getting a DNA test for (golden retrivers already have a DNA test for this! :smile: ) plus I have a bitch who is a carrier of vWD. Aussie shepherds (Crufts BIS breed last year) are currently finding a DNA test for epilepsy to try and understand it more and to be able to stop breeding from dogs who have it

Not done too well to be honest since the two bitches we wanted to breed from.

I wouldn't blame the KC for this.

Now I would blame the dog show circles for poor breathing in bulldogs, short legs in dachies, not to mention the amount of problems with little chi's and yorkies!

Oh and breeding for colour? Only after conformation and health! :smile:


Yes, that's now, because HD is known to be a problem in retrievers, certain other problems are commonly attributed to certain other breeds etc, but the reason it came about in the first place was because of inbreeding to perpetuate desirable factors. The Kennel Club and dog show circles are inextricably linked I'm afraid, and are definitely the reason the genetic pool for certain breeds was made smaller, even if they are now trying to widen it to counteract the damage they've done. You can't blame one without implicating the other. If you want me to make a less specific accusation, then "the trend of breeding solely for the purpose of producing nice-looking animals" is to blame.
Reply 8
Or maybe the trend of backyard breeders and puppy farm and people who don't have a clube breeding to make something pretty and to make a fast buck :frown:

Surely agility dogs are bred for speed, obedience for ability to learn and perform etc.

Or maybe I'm runing my breeds because I show them....
Reply 9
LOL I have a laughing disorder LOL
foxiroxi
Or maybe the trend of backyard breeders and puppy farm and people who don't have a clube breeding to make something pretty and to make a fast buck :frown:

Surely agility dogs are bred for speed, obedience for ability to learn and perform etc.

Or maybe I'm runing my breeds because I show them....


I may have a pretty strong opinion on the welfare of the dogs in the care of backyard breeders and puppy farms but biologically speaking (which is a totally separate issue) they are more likely to be doing their animals a favour than the Kennel Club and pedigree circles. The animals they are able to get their hands on will hardly ever be pedigree so they will be (albeit unwittingly) widening the gene pool by breeding animals that are more distantly related to each other than those registered in the KC. You seem to be agreeing but disagreeing with me? You have just said yourself that agility dogs are bred for speed, obedience, ability to learn etc, and other dogs required to do a specific job are bred for characteristics which will make them better at that job. But what that entails is breeding from a known collection of dogs - which is where the KC comes in - that already possess those traits, which in turn were bred from dogs that had the traits. Down the generations the gene pool has gotten smaller and smaller. Understand that welfare and genetics are superficially separate issues - I am not debating that you take great pride and care in your dogs and that you would never breed animals irresponsibly but you are unfortunately part of the organised body which erstwhile created problematically small gene pools.