Three siblings from a Pennsylvania Dutch family have a rare genetic condition that leads triglycerides to build up in their blood to the extent that it looks "milky," LiveScience reports.
It adds that the siblings, who are in their 50s, had been diagnosed with hypertriglyceridemia, but genetic testing has found that actually have a very rare condition called familial chylomicronemia syndrome. In a case report appearing in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania report that the siblings inherited two copies of a novel mutation in the LPL gene. The siblings' parents were first cousins.
This, LiveScience notes, led the siblings' triglyceride levels to be very high: at their highest, they had triglyceride levels of 5,000 mg/dL, 6,000 mg/dL, and 7,200 mg/dL, respectively, while 500 mg/dL is typically considered high. But it adds that their condition appears to be responding to a fat-restricted diet.