Is Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome inherited ?
In about 85 percent of cases of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, only one person in a family has been diagnosed with the condition. However, parents of one child with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome may be at risk of having other children with the disorder. This risk depends on the genetic cause of the condition.  Another 10 to 15 percent of people with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome are part of families with more than one affected family member. In most of these families, the condition appears to have an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. Autosomal dominant inheritance means that one copy of an altered gene in each cell is typically sufficient to cause the disorder. In most of these cases, individuals with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome inherit the genetic change from their mothers. Occasionally, a person who inherits the altered gene will not have any of the characteristic signs and symptoms of the condition.  Rarely, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome results from changes in the structure of chromosome 11. Some of these chromosomal abnormalities are inherited from a parent, while others occur as random events during the formation of reproductive cells (eggs and sperm) or in the earliest stages of development before birth.