Two-year-old world’s first to have extra DNA strand
April 12th, 2011 - 4:42 pm ICT by IANSLondon, April 12 (IANS) A British toddler has become the first person in the world to be diagnosed with an extra strand in his DNA.
Two-year-old Alfie Clamp from Nuneaton in Warkwickshire was born blind and with severe disabilities, which led doctors to carry out various tests.
They found out that his seventh chromosome had an “extra arm” which has never been documented anywhere in the world before, according to the Daily Mail.
Doctors were baffled at his condition, which is so rare it does not have a name.
They also do not have no idea whether the medical condition will improve or reduce the boy’s life span.
His parents, Gemma and Richard Clamp, only discovered something was wrong with their son after they first took him home.
A few days later he stopped breathing and his lips turned blue and had to be rushed back to hospital.
Doctors discovered he had a rare abnormality in his DNA only when he was six weeks old.
His condition left Alfie unable to see until he was three months old.
He still suffers from digestive problems and needs to take many medicines every day to help his body absorb vital nutrients.
The Clamps, who also have a 10-year-old daughter, who is perfectly healthy, had their DNA tested but were not found to be carriers of the different strand.
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Tags: chromosome, clamps, daily mail, digestive problems, disabilities, dna strand, few days, first person, gemma, hospital doctors, life span, lips, medical condition, medicines, nuneaton, rare abnormality, six weeks, three months, various tests, vital nutrients