Research unveils club foot gene link

Clubfoot, also known as congenital talipes equinovarus, occurs when a child is born with a foot pointing down and in. In the UK, between one to two babies per 1,000 are born with the condition, which can affect one or both feet, and often causes wasting of the calf muscle.

Treatment, which begins at birth and can take years, involves multiple plaster casts, and often multiple operations.

The scientists analysed more than 1,000 genetic samples which showed for the first time that babies with the less common variant of the C677T variant in the gene methyltetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) are less likely to develop clubfoot.