Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Passing on AS to children

Hi,
How about the AS sufferers having HLA-B27 negative. Are they likely to pass on AS to their children. What are the probabilities.

Regards.
JAY

I am Neg- have four sons. One son has symptoms now 35, Does not have it to the degree that I had at that age. If given the choice of living a life with AS or not living I would chose living. Son has never been Dx. He plays tennis weekly and golf a couple of times a month.

Jay,

I don't have the statistics for HLA-b27 negatives. I am not so sure that the heritability rate for negatives is available or easy to calculate. Since it is a minority of an already small group (meaning Ankylosing Spondylitis patients - not all Spondyloarthropathies as a whole), it is not easy to track. It is of course known that other genes are involved, but outside research environments they are not yet commercially available. The heritability rate is probably the same as or less then the rate for HLA-b27 positives. It is highly unlikely to be higher.

I have to agree with the many others who have said that they would not change their decisions to have children because of AS. My kids are the light of my life. Even if I knew that they would have Spondyloarthropathy, I could not imagine life without them. Spondy aside, they are happy, healthy, intelligent, normal kids. They have dreams and ambitions. With appropriate medical treatment, nothing is standing in the way of them achieving their dreams.

Melissa,
Looking back, I think many of us can trace our symptoms back to adolescence. Early Spondyloarthropathy is notoriously difficult to diagnose. I knew my kids had the problem long before they consistently showed enough symptoms to force a diagnosis - and treatment. The numbers I cited only include kids diagnosed before age 17. Since spondyloarthropathies rarely present before late teens, the majority of the kids included in those numbers are JIA/JRA.

Hi, I too didn't know I had AS in my 20's. I had 3 pregancies with no problems at all.

My daughter now 26 has AS too. I suspect my eldest son may have it too, but he refuses to acknowledge it or be tested..he is 29. My 24 yr old son shows no signs at all.

My daughter has decided she will not have children as she could not look after them with her AS. She is single at the moment so I hope that outlook may change when MR Right comes along....in saying that she is quite determined that she wont have children.

I don't know if I would have or wouldn't have had kids knowing I had AS.

Noelene

Thank you stormy.

JAY

I have two kids both are fine i am glad for that.I only hope that they never get this AS CRAP.No one in my family had AS CRARP before me(That i know of,but some SOB did)i am glad it was me instead of my Mom or Dad or sisters or brother,cause i would not wish it on anybody.LUCKY ME,CRAP AS!

Tommy

i'm HLA-B27 negative and have undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy. no one in my family besides me has been tested for the gene. but my mother, several of her brothers and sisters, and her mother all have / have had this to varying degrees. but neither my brother nor sister seem to. so whatever gene is causing undiff spondy, it does run in the family.

I was diagnosed at 23 and had 2 children since. Never thought about not having them. Even with AS, we can live a great life and with them, it is even greater. And yes, they are both HLA B27+ like me. We will see ...

Hi Tommy,
In my family, we do not have any instance of AS. No one is aware about such a desease, including myself. I came to about this only after getting myself digonised.
I also wish the same to others.

JAY