Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN) type 1 is a rare hereditary neurological disorder. Two brothers aged 17 and 14 years had HSAN type 1 as both had big ulcers on feet, mutilation, dissociated anaesthesia, absent ankle jerks and normal hands. Probably these are first cases of HSAN type 1 in Indian literature.

Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a genetic vascular disorder characterised by epistaxis, telangiectases, and visceral manifestations. The two known disease types, HHT1 and HHT2, are caused by mutations in the endoglin (ENG) and ALK-1 genes, respectively. A higher frequency of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) has been reported for HHT1 while HHT2 is thought to be assoc...

von Willebrand disease (VWD), the most common hereditary coagulation disorder, results from mutations in the 52-exon gene for von Willebrand factor (VWF), which encodes an 8.4-kB cDNA. Studies with VWF cDNA plasmids have demonstrated that in vivo gene transfer to the liver will correct the coagulation dysfunction in VWF(-/-) mice, but the correction is transient. To develop gene therapy for VWF...

: Severe hereditary factor VII deficiency is a rare bleeding disorder and may be associated with a severe bleeding phenotype. We describe a pregnancy in a 33-year-old woman with compound heterozygous factor VII deficiency and a history of severe menorrhagia and mucocutaneous bleedings. After discontinuation of contraceptives, menstruation was covered with recombinant activated factor VII (rFVII...

Hereditary dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder. Clinical and genetic findings in hereditary DRPLA are very similar to those of Huntington's disease (HD). However, it can be differentiated from HD by the pathological findings of dentatorubral and pallidoluysian atrophies and by a lack of prominent atrophy of the striatum at necropsy. The...

The biblical giant Goliath has an identifiable family tree suggestive of autosomal dominant inheritance. We suggest that he had a hereditary pituitary disorder possibly due to the AIP gene, causing early onset and familial acromegaly or gigantism. We comment on the evidence within the scriptures for his other relatives including a relative with six digits and speculate on possible causes of the...

Over the past century, the congruency between the modern description of hemophilia and a hereditary coagulation disorder described in the Talmud has been widely noted. Examination of the Talmudic text suggests that: 1. The disease described there closely resembles the modern characterization of classic hemophilia. 2. The hereditary pattern described is consistent with the distinctive inheritanc...