Skip to content
Norton & Elaine Sarnoff Center for Jewish Genetics Logo
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Board Members
    • Staff
  • Genetic Disorders
    • Types of Genetic Disorders
    • Jewish Genetic Disorder FAQs
    • Rabbinical Insights
  • Hereditary Cancer
    • BRCA Mutations
    • Lynch Syndrome
    • Assess Your Risk
    • Cancer FAQs
    • Cancer Resources
  • Resources
    • Family Health History
    • Teach Jewish Genetics
    • For Medical Professionals
    • Personal Stories
    • Blog
    • Events
  • Donate
  • Get Screened

Hereditary Fructose Intolerance

Hereditary fructose intolerance is an inherited metabolic condition that affects a person’s ability to digest a sugar called fructose.

Symptoms include nausea, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) after ingesting fructose. Additionally, infants with hereditary fructose intolerance may fail to grow and gain weight at the expected rate (failure to thrive). Repeated ingestion of fructose can cause liver and kidney damage, and continued exposure to fructose can result in more severe symptoms including seizures, coma, and death from liver and kidney failure.

Treatment for this condition involves total elimination of sucrose and fructose from the diet, after which affected individuals can experience a normal quality of life and life expectancy.  

This condition is caused by pathogenic (disease-causing) variants in the ALDOB gene. Additionally, hereditary fructose intolerance exhibits autosomal recessive inheritance, meaning both parents must be carriers to have a 25% chance of having a child with the condition. The risk of being a carrier is based on a person’s ancestry or ethnic background. Carriers do not typically show any signs or symptoms.  

Other names for this condition include fructosemia and aldolase B deficiency. 

Resources: 

Medline Plus Genetics

Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD)

Revised July 2022

Share this
Tweet this
Email this

The Norton & Elaine Sarnoff Center for Jewish Genetics is a supporting foundation of the Jewish United Fund, and is supported in part by the Michael Reese Health Trust.

30 S Wells
Chicago, IL 60606
312-357-4718
jewishgenetics@juf.org

About
  • About Us
  • Genetic Disorders
  • Hereditary Cancer
  • Donate
Resources
  • Medical Professionals
  • Teach Jewish Genetics
  • Events

©2023 Norton & Elaine Sarnoff Center for Jewish Genetics

Page load link
Go to Top