Is Myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers inherited ?
Is myoclonic epilepsy associated with ragged red fibers genetic? If so, how is it inherited? MERRF is caused by mutations in the mitochondrial DNA and is transmitted by maternal inheritance. It is called maternal inheritance because a child inherits the great majority of their mitochondria from their mother through the egg.   The Centre for Genetics Education provides a detail description of maternal inheritance.  The mother of an individual with MERRF usually has a mitochondrial mutation and may or may not have symptoms.  Or, an individual with MERRF may have a mitochondrial mutation that just occurred in them, called a de novo mutation.  If the mother has the mitochondrial mutation, all of her children will inherit the mutation and may or may not have symptoms.  All of her daughters children will also inherit the mitochondrial mutation.  Her son's children are not at risk of inheriting the mutation.