A girl from Burma broke the previous World Guiness Record for polydactylism. She has 12 fingers and 14 toes. Polydactylism can occur as a symptom of a genetic disease, such as Ellis-van Creveld syndrome , which affects bone growth. If it occurs by itself, then it is likely due to an autosomal dominant mutation in genes. It is inherited. Normally, people with polydactylism do not have good function of the extra digits and tend to drop things. She has full control of her fingers and can run well. It is very interesting to see cases like this because having so many extra digits is not very common. However, polydactylism is very common in certain breeds of cats. So, if any of your kids ever have an extra finger or toe, you dont have to cut it off. They can use it to their advantage and be a baseball player.
This article is fascinating, knowing that this girl will be able to function normal without any medical issues due to extra digits and toes. If she can function normally then there is no need for surgery to remove the extra digits and toes but growing up different from other children and not being comfortable with themselves could also cause mental and emotional problems for her future even though she can walk and pick up items perfectly fine. So, I wonder if they will remove the extras before she gets older.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of this condition in cats before. From what I've heard, polydactylism does not interfere with the performance of cats. So, it makes sense that a human could function normally, however it also makes sense that it could make one a bit clumpsy as well. Maybe it might end up to be an evolutionary process, and those people (and cats) are more advanced then the rest of us.
ReplyDelete[...] any possible carrier status and thus with autosomal dominant inheritance (BRCA is a good example) I have some questions about the genetics of cancer? From what I understand, tumor suppressor genes,...t ... That said, I think the genesis of the tumor due to mutation is inherited as an autosomal [...]
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