Meet Anestis & Dimitris

Anestis and Dimitris were two brothers who had Klinefelter syndrome. As they were never diagnosed, they had to endure the prejudice of their neighbours in a small village, nearly 40 years ago.

Chris, one of the founders of gMendel, shares the story of the two brothers.

Chris was born and raised in a small village, called Monokklisia, in the northern part of Greece. He remembers the two boys, Anestis and Dimitris, living in the neighborhood. The brothers were very close to their mother, who was always very supportive. When she passed away, they were devastated.

Although Dimitris and Anestis were very polite and well-respected guys, Chris remembers some nasty neighbors making jokes about them, because they had small testicles and penis, did not have facial hair, could not make children and they had some female characteristics. People also gave them the nickname “spanos”, meaning a person without facial hair. The nickname got so popular in the small village that it finally replaced their real family name.

Chris could not justify this behaviour and prejudice, neither could the boys. Chris’s father, who was a good friend of theirs, also got upset when people would say nasty things and make fun of them.

What was wrong with them? Nothing, they were just born with one extra X chromosome.

It turns out that the two brothers had Klinefelter syndrome. This happened 40 years ago. Their life would have been so much different if they and their community knew about the syndrome. Unfortunately, not much has changed in the diagnosis of Klinefelter. And it’s time to change this.

Meet Anestis & Dimitris

Lived with Klinefelter syndrome
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