Causes

When you don't have enough of the MCAD enzyme in your body, certain fats called medium-chain fatty acids can't be broken down and converted to energy. This results in hypoglycemia and low energy. Also, fatty acids can build up in body tissues and cause damage to the liver and brain.

MCAD deficiency is inherited from both parents. Though both parents are carriers — each one has an abnormal gene — they typically don't have symptoms of the condition. The affected child inherits two copies of the abnormal gene — one from each parent.

If you inherit only one affected gene, you won't develop MCAD deficiency, but you are a carrier and can pass the abnormal gene to your children. But they wouldn't develop the condition unless they also inherited an affected gene from their other parent.