Klinefelter Syndrome

Klinefelter Syndrome

• Klinefelter syndrome is hard to diagnose until the men hit puberty. During this time, the men with XXY chromosomes are “often tall and usually don’t develop secondary sex characteristics, such as facial hair or underarm and pubic hair. The extra X chromosome primarily affects the testes, which produce sperm and the male hormone testosterone” (“Klinefelter” 1). This means that the men are sterile and cannot reproduce.
• Klinefelter syndrome is a disorder that only affects males. The disease is caused when a male have an extra X chromosome so instead of having (XY), the males have (XXY). This is typically caused by “nondisjunction. When that egg unites with a normal sperm to form an embryo, that embryo may end up with three copies of the sex chromosomes instead of the normal two. The extra chromosome is then copied into every cell of the body” (“Klinefelter” 1).
• The best way to treat this disorder is hormone replacement therapy. Typically “teenagers are given testosterone injections to replace the hormone that would normally be produced by the testes” (“Klinefelter” 1).
• Klinefelter syndrome affects between 1 in 500 and 1 in 1,000 people.