Genetic disorders among Palestinian Arabs. 4: Genetic clinics in the community.

Genetic disorders are frequent in the Arab population of Israel, mainly because of the preference for consanguineous marriages. Many of the inherited diseases are present with a high frequency only in a limited region or a single village. It is therefore not surprising that, in each of the villages, a different distribution of genetic diseases is found; thus, a detailed knowledge of the genetic disorders present in each village is of utmost importance for genetic counseling.

High incidence of deafness from three frequent connexin 26 mutations in an isolated community.

In a small village founded by few ancestors, three mutations in GJB2, the gene for connexin 26, are responsible for the high prevalence of deafness. A total of 15% of healthy individuals from a random sample were carriers of either 35Gdel (7.8%), W77R (2.