What is Turner syndrome?

Easily described, the chromosomes are the structure that carry our genes. Most people have 46 chromosomes assembled in 23 couples, one half of every couple comes from the father and the other half from the mother. The 22 first couples are named after their number (1-22) while the last couple, the sex chromosomes, are labeled X and Y. A male has one of each (XY) and a woman has two X chromosomes (XX).

Turner syndrome is a condition in which a female is partly or completely missing an X chromosome.

Typically, Turner syndrome leads to short stature, that the girls do not undergo puberty unless they receive hormone therapy and an early loss of ovarian function. There are also other symptoms of Turner syndrome – for example extra folds of skin on the neck, swelling of the hands and feet, as well as repeated ear infections as a child.

With help from hormone therapy, girls and women with Turner syndrome today live lives with less complications, and have the possibility to have a normal relationship with a partner.