Many genetic disorders affect boys more than girls, for a characteristic reason, as doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital explain in our A-Z series on child health
What is an X-linked condition?
We have 46 chromosomes that we inherit from our parents. Among these are the X and Y sex chromosomes. Females have two X chromosomes, whereas males have one X and one Y chromosome.
X-linked conditions arise from genes on the X chromosome. Usually women carrying the faulty gene will not be affected because the other normal X chromosome will compensate for the faulty gene. However, because boys only carry one X chromosome, they will have a 50 per cent chance of inheriting this faulty gene and developing a genetic disorder.
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