What is Klinefelter syndrome or XXY, what are the symptoms and what happens when a male has an extra X chromosome?
KLINEFELTER Syndrome affects men who are born with an extra X chromosome.
Here's everything you need to know about the condition and its symptoms...
What is Klinefelter syndrome?
Klinefelter syndrome, or XXY, is a condition that occurs in males with two or more X chromosomes.
The standard chromosome combination for males is XY and for females it's XX.
The syndrome was identified by the US rheumatologist Harry Klinefelter in the 40s.
Klinefelter syndrome is typically not hereditary and occurs at random.
What happens when a male has extra X chromosomes?
Around 1 in every 660 males has an extra X chromosome but often the symptoms are so subtle that they go unnoticed.
In new Channel 4 reality show Genderquake, one of the 11 housemates, Brooke Moore has Klinefelter syndrome.
Originally born Bradley, she was assigned a male gender at birth and later transitioned to become a female after being diagnosed with the condition.
"So as you can imagine I stood out like a sore thumb at school. It seemed as if overnight my body had 'outed' me."
What are the symptoms of Klinefelter syndrome?
There are a variety of symptoms associated with Klinefelter syndrome at various stages including...
Babies and toddlers
- Delay in learning to sit up, crawl, walk and talk
- Being weaker, quieter and more passive than usual
- Weak muscles
- Problems at birth such as testicles that haven't descended into the scrotum
Children
- Shyness and low self-confidence
- Problems with reading, writing, spelling and paying attention
- Mild dyslexia and/or dyspraxia
- Low energy levels
- Difficulty socialising or expressing feelings
Teenagers
- Growing taller than expected for the family (with long arms and legs)
- Broad hips
- Poor muscle tone and slower than usual muscle growth
- Reduced facial and body hair that starts growing later than usual
- Small penis and testicles
- Enlarged breasts (gynaecomastia)
Adults
- Any of the symptoms listed above
- Infertility and inability to have children naturally
- Low sex drive