What Is Gilbert's Disease?
6. Causes
As mentioned, Gilbert’s disease is a genetic condition and is passed down from parents, so everybody that has the condition was born with it. The associated gene is responsible for helping to regulate an enzyme that helps with the process of breaking down bilirubin. Many people carry the defective gene, even if they are not aware of it.
Most people that have the defective gene will only have one copy of it. However, two copies of the gene are needed to cause Gilbert’s syndrome. This means that both parents will need to have the faulty gene if their children are to develop Gilbert’s syndrome.
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