A FAMILY has revealed their baby was the first in Europe to benefit from a pioneering IVF procedure which eradicates a potentially deadly gene.

Carmen Neagu, 26, of Crowstone Road, Westcliff, suffers from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a form of muscular dystrophy.

Her father suffered from the condition all of his life until he passed away seven years ago, and Mrs Neagu, who inherited the disease, had a 50 per cent chance of passing it onto her children and was considering adoption.

She said: “My only wish was to have healthy children.

“I didn’t want to have a child with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and neither did my husband.”

Mrs Neagu and her husband Gabriel, 31, were told they had three options – conceive and hope for the best, carry out tests on the foetus and potentially terminate the pregnancy or go through a new type of IVF called karyomapping.

Mrs Neagu said: “I knew the first two were really not options for me, so we started looking into the IVF procedure.”

Pioneering fertility specialists at the Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health in London used karyomapping to ensure the potentially life-threatening genes would not be passed on.

Following numerous tests and lab work, only the embryos which were healthy and free from disease were used.

Using the screened embryos the couple then underwent a normal IVF cycle on the NHS. The couple were overjoyed when Mrs Neagu became pregnant at their first attempt.

Lucas was born in Southend Hospital on December 19 free from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and other genetic diseases.

His delighted mum said: “We were so excited that it happened so quickly.

“We had been told it could take a year, but it all happened in a few months.

“Lucas is absolutely fine. He is developing perfectly and is a chubby little boy.

“He is a perfect little boy and we couldn’t be happier.

“The karyomapping was amazing and also screened for 200 other genetic conditions.

“Other women in this position should have hope and be aware that they do have options.

“I’m really happy to live in this age where we have the technology to be able to do this.

“There is still no cure for the condition, but with this screening it doesn’t have to ever happen again. This is the future.”

The couple froze two other embryos during the first round of IVF and hope to have more children in the future.

THERE is currently no cure for Charcot-Marie-Tooth.

The disease is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders, affecting approximately one in 2,500 people, equating to approximately 26,000 people in the United Kingdom.

The disease is characterised by progressive loss of muscle tissue and touch sensation across various parts of the body It causes weakness and wasting of muscles below the knees.

It often affects sufferers’ hands and can lead to a loss of feeling in the fingers and legs.

How does karyomapping work?

Fertility specialists tested DNA swabs from Mrs Neagu, her husband Gabriel and her mother.

They isolated the genes responsible for CMT by comparing them at different points to find the defective genetic code.

The embryos created from karyomapping are tested to find which ones are free from Charcot- Marie-Tooth and are then used in a normal IVF cycle.

Fertility specialists also screened the embryos for 200 other genetic diseases and that they each have the right number of chromosomes.