Familial Adenomatous Polyposis: A Rare Disease

Familial Adenomatous Polyposis

“The reported cases of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis range from 1 in 7,000 to 1 in 22,000 individuals.” (University of Rochester Medical Center) This is due to the different forms of the previously stated disorder. Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, also known as FAP, is an inherited genetic disorder that causes noncancerous polyps, or growths, to form in the colon and rectum. Familial Adenomatous Polyposis can develop early on in the teenage years along with the middle ages. There are three types of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis: classic, attenuated, and autosomal recessive. Classic and attenuated are very similar. The types of FAP all have the same symptoms; symptoms of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis include bloody diarrhea, bleeding from the rectum, changes in bowel movements, lower abdominal pain, and unexplained weight loss. Until the symptoms are fully examined FAP may not be revealed. Additionally, the ranges of polyps that form vary from hundreds to thousands with classic and attenuated Familial Adenomatous Polyposis. Autosomal recessive FAP is a milder form that causes fewer than 100 polyps to form, and patients with this type do not form polyps until adulthood. The cause, inheritance and treatment of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis vary depending on which type you have.

There are many occurrences that play a role in the history, inheritance, and the cause. The first verified case of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis was found in Russia in 1881 by Nikolai Vasilyevich Sklifosovsky, a Russian surgeon and physiologist. His patient, a 51 year old merchant, showed symptoms to the later known disease, Familial Adenomatous Polyposis; through rectal examination, he found large polyps developing. He ...

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...ene Support Group. Their purpose is to inform everyone about Familial Adenomatous Polyposis and they have fundraisers to raise money for further research. There is also a hospital in Singapore that has a support group called The Registry. It focuses on the well-being of the patients and helps patients cope with having FAP. Support groups for FAP are of abundance.

Familial Adenomatous Polyposis is an inherited disorder that causes polyps to form in the rectum and colon. The three types of FAP are classic, attenuated, and autosomal recessive. They cause various forms of polyps to form and they also have different causes and forms of inheritance. Consequently, the treatments for these types of FAP are surgery, and two types of medicine: Sundilac, and Celecoxib. Even though Familial Adenomatous Polyposis is rare it is still an ongoing issue that requires more research.