Juvenile macular degeneration is an inherited genetic disorder, meaning the disease is passed from parent to child. Different types of juvenile macular degeneration have different inheritance patterns. For example, Stargardt disease is recessive, meaning it has to be inherited from both parents for the disease to develop. Best’s disease is a dominant gene, meaning a child only has to inherit the gene from one parent to develop the disease. When an affected person has children with an unaffected partner, there is a 50 percent chance that the affected parent will pass the disease-causing gene to each child.
Juvenile retinoschisis is an X-linked disorder and overwhelmingly affects males. The genetic mutation that causes the disease is found on the X chromosome, which males inherit from their mothers. (Fathers contribute the Y chromosome.)
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