Is Wolf White Parkinson syndrome hereditary?

Hello, I'm an expert in the field of medical genetics. Let's dive into the question of whether Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) is hereditary. Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that is characterized by a deletion of genetic material from the short arm of chromosome 4. This condition is not typically inherited in a predictable pattern from parents to children, as it usually occurs as a de novo mutation, which means it happens spontaneously during the formation of the egg or sperm, or early in the development of the embryo. However, in some cases, if a parent has a balanced translocation involving chromosome 4, there is a slightly increased risk of having a child with WHS. A balanced translocation is a rearrangement of genetic material between non-homologous chromosomes that does not result in a loss or gain of genetic material and is usually harmless to the carrier. But it can lead to an increased risk of the child having a chromosomal abnormality like WHS if the rearrangement results in a deletion during gamete formation. In summary, while Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome is not generally inherited in the traditional sense, there are certain genetic circumstances that can increase the risk of a child being born with the condition.

The familial form of the disorder typically has an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance, which means one copy of the altered gene in each cell is sufficient to cause the condition. In most cases, a person with familial Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome has inherited the condition from an affected parent.