National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Legg-Calve-Perthes disease

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Is Legg-Calve-Perthes disease an inherited condition?
Legg-Calve-Perthes disease (LCPD) is usually not caused by genetic factors (thus is usually not inherited), but there are some cases where LCPD affects more than one family member.  In a small percentage of these familial cases, changes or mutations in the COL2A1 gene have been found to cause LCPD.  When mutations in COL2A1 gene are the cause of LCPD, the disease is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner.[1][2][3] In some cases, it appears that genetic and environmental factors interact to increase a person's chance to develop LCPD.[4][3]
Last updated: 9/13/2016

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  1. Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. Genetics Home Reference. September, 2014; https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/legg-calve-perthes-disease#genes.
  2. Al-Omran AK and Sadat-Ali M. Legg-Calve-Perthes disease in two generations of male family members: a case report. J Orthop Surg (Hong Kong). August 2013; 21(2):258-61. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24014797.
  3. Kim Y-J. Legg Calve Perthes Disease. National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). November 18 2015; https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/legg-calve-perthes-disease/.
  4. Ola Wiig. Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease. Orphanet. 2009; http://www.orpha.net/consor/cgi-bin/OC_Exp.php?lng=en&Expert=2380.