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The rare genetic condition that triggers uncontrollable movements and self-injury

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Summary
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83% Informative

Approximately 1 in 380,000 babies born in the United States are estimated to have the condition.

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is caused by mutations in a gene called HPRT1 .

This gene carries instructions for an enzyme to recycle important chemical compounds called purines.

In patients with the condition, the HPRt1 enzyme doesn't work properly due to mutations in its associated gene.

Therefore, cells cannot recycle purines as they normally would, and a waste product called uric acid clumps into small stones or crystals in the body.

The main symptoms of the condition are associated with inflammatory arthritis.

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78

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75

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57

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semi-formal

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English

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58

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Time-value

long-living

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