Sunday, November 13, 2022

This Genetic Condition Causes Blood to Turn a Milky White Color


    A genetic condition, familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS), causes high amounts of triglycerides to collect in the blood. This article discusses how these siblings found out they had this condition because their blood turned white. These siblings’ parents were cousins and throughout their lives that had many different symptoms. The article states they were diagnosed with hypertriglyceridemia, and it wasn’t until later in life that they had genetic testing done that showed they had FCS. 

 

    People with FCS have at least 6 times more milligrams of triglycerides per deciliter then what the normal limit should be for a healthy person. This causes their blood to turn into a milky-white. The siblings suffered health issues, such as pancreatitis, due to these high levels of triglycerides. 

 

    Doctors looked at these siblings’ genetic code and found a mutation in the gene that builds the protein lipoprotein lipase (LPL). LPL breaks down fats. Their genetic code showed they carried two copies of the mutated gene.  To control this condition doctors placed the sibling on a low-fat diet and sometimes replace their blood with healthy blood.

 

    This article was an extremely interesting read. I have never heard of a condition that turns the blood a white color, so it was interesting to see what could be cause for this odd thing. This research is important because this genetic mutation can cause detrimental health effects if it is not caught. 

1 comment:

  1. It is very interesting that these siblings both have this considering how rare it is. I also find how a low fat diet is able to help with this disorder.

    ReplyDelete