X-Linked Alport Syndrome with Jennie Feiger, PA-C, CAQ-neph

This month in partnership with ⁠Alport Syndrome Foundation⁠! Our Carrier Connections program features a different X-linked condition each month with the goal to increase awareness of X-linked conditions and how they impact the lives of women and girls. Some of these X-linked conditions are part of a larger disease umbrella with other types of inheritance patterns. This month, we are featuring Alport syndrome. Alport syndrome is an inherited disorder caused by mutations, or changes, in the genes COL4A3, COL4A4, and COL4A5 that inhibit their ability to produce a protein called collagen IV. There are four main types of Alport syndrome characterized by their mode of inheritance; the X-linked version of this syndrome, X-linked Alport syndrome (XLAS), is the most commonly reported and brought on specifically by a defective COL4A5 gene. Other inheritance forms include autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant, and digenic. Alport syndrome is most frequently associated with symptoms of progressive kidney disease as well as bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and eye abnormalities. Today, we are bringing on Jennie Feiger. Although she has no accent to reveal her origins, Jennie grew up in Brooklyn, New York.  She attended Wesleyan University for her undergraduate degree, and then earned two masters degrees from the University of California at Berkeley, in Biochemistry and Genetic Counseling. She has worked in genetic research, genetic counseling, and teaching at the college and graduate level.   As a genetic counselor, she focused on adult onset conditions, including cancer and dementia.  She has presented her findings at national meetings, as well as founded support groups for families impacted by adult-onset conditions and is active in training graduate students in genetic counseling.   As a physician assistant program, she has worked in internal medicine, geriatrics and gastroenterology, and now nephrology.  Jennie enjoys getting to know her patients deeply and takes pride in providing comprehensive care, including genetic counseling.  She lives in Boulder with her husband and is recently an “empty nester” with her two young sons in college.  She loves to garden, cycle and cross country ski. Carrier Connections is sponsored by Kyowa Kirin, Amgen, and Sanofi. For more information about our organization, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠rememberthegirls.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Novel therapies for Alport syndrome: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9081811/