What's an example of a genetic disease?

Question

And can u give me 1 thats gud 4 writing about 4 homework. Thanks!

Answer 1

Try cystic fibrosis- a typical example of a genetic disease
here is all you need to know about it for your homework
good luck
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_fibrosis

Answer 2

Sickle cell anaemia - you can write about malaria and the heterozygote advantage, and also talk about co-dominance.
If you're interested in the idea of genetic resistance to malaria, there are a whole host of haemoglobin disorders that seem to be linked to malarial resistance (like thalassaemia and favism) - seems like every malarial region has a haemoglobin disorder to contend with.

Another example of a disease which *may* have a heterozygote advantage is cystic fibrosis - there's some evidence that heterozygotes have greater resistance to bubonic plague, which explains the relatively high frequency of the gene in European populations.

Sex-linked diseases like red-green colour-blindness, haemophilia and muscular dystrophy are interesting too.

Answer 3

Ultimately, most disease probably has a genetic basis, other than those which are caused by pathogenic agents.

You have several mentioned already. Which to write about?

The most common in the UK is phenylketouria (PKU), the only genetic disease routinely tested for in all newborn babies.

Other than that your other interests might dictate the one you choose to write about:

cystic fibrosis - high frequency in the UK (1/25 carriers), the search for the gene at fault is well published, one of the diseases in which gene therapy has been tested and for which life expectancy has increased dramatically.

Huntingdon's disease. This is a very unusual condition in that it is dominant rather than recessive. There is a reliable genetic test, but does everyone want to know that they have the allele and will therefore inherit the disease?


Thalassaemia/sickle cell anaemia/ Tay Sach's disease. These affect particular nationalities/cultural groups and inform those groups' opinions on such issues as abortion and (esp. Tay Sachs) on suitable arranged marriages. Some Cypriots/ West Africans and specifically Ashkenazi Jews suffer from those diseases specifically. There are a lot of social issues surrounding the above and the views of affected populations have truly adapted to deal with them.

Haemophilia - this is a sex-linked disease with fascinating links to Queen Victoria who spread it liberally through the royal families of Europe. A lot of historical info.

Of course there are others, I wouldn't regard your average case of Down's Syndrome as a genetic disease in the same sense as the above. This condition normally arises when chromosomes (spec. Chr. 21) fail to separate properly in meiosis II. This is most often associated with older mothers who are otherwise healthy,

For the ones I have mentioned there is plenty of information available. Your preference for scientific or social issues surrounding them might inform your choice.

Answer 4

A genetic disease or disorder is the result of changes, or mutations, in an individual’s DNA. A mutation is a change in the letters (DNA sequence) that make up a gene. This is sometimes referred to as a "spelling" mistake. Genes code for proteins, the molecules that carry out most of the work, perform most life functions, and make up the majority of cellular structures. When a gene is mutated so that its protein product can no longer carry out its normal function, a disorder can result.

Genetic diseases can be inherited and are mutations in the germ cells of the body—the cells involved in passing genetic information from parents to offspring. Genetic diseases can also result from changes in DNA in somatic cells, or cells in the body that are not germ cells.

Some genetic diseases are called Mendelian disorders—they are caused by mutations that occur in the DNA sequence of a single gene. These are usually rare diseases; some examples are Huntington’s disease and cystic fibrosis. Many genetic diseases are multifactorial—they are caused by mutations in several genes compounded by environmental factors. Some examples of these are heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Answer 5

Without going into great detail, there are some diseases which are caused by genetics e.g. cystic fibrosis. There are others which give a tendency towards an illness such as Bipolar Disorder (manic depression) which can be triggered by say a stressful event in life.

Answer 6

My ex-husband's family suffer from hereditary cataracts - that is a genetic abnormality but I do not think it would be classified as a 'disease'.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder - you could use a search engine to find out more on the internet.

Answer 7

thalassaemia, sickle cell. schizophrenia is thought to be about 30-50% due to genetics - might be good to include that in your intro/discussion about how some diseases are not just about genetics... genetics can create a predisposition or vulnerability but other factors are needed to set it off - certianly the case for things like asthma.

good luck
xx

Answer 8

A genetic disease is one that can be passed down the generations, such as certain cancers. Huntington's disease is also genetic - you could look that up

Answer 9

Here is a list of genetic disorders. They are all worth writing about.

* Achondroplasia
* Achromatopsia
* Acid Maltase Deficiency
* Adrenoleukodystrophy
* Aicardi Syndrome
* Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency
* Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome
* Apert Syndrome
* Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia
* Ataxia Telangiectasia
* Barth Syndrome
* Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome
* Canavan Disease
* Cri Du Chat Syndrome
* Cystic Fibrosis
* Dercum's Disease
* Ectodermal Dysplasia
* Fanconi Anemia
* Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
* Fragile X Syndrome
* Galactosemia
* Gaucher Disease
* Hemochromatosis
* Hemophilia
* Huntington's Disease
* Hurler Syndrome
* Hypophosphatasia
* Klinefelter Syndrome
* Krabbes Disease
* Langer-Giedion Syndrome
* Leukodystrophy
* Long QT Syndrome
* Marfan Syndrome
* Moebius Syndrome
* Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS)
* Nail Patella Syndrome
* Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus
* Neurofibromatosis
* Niemann-Pick Disease
* Osteogenesis Imperfecta
* Porphyria
* Prader-Willi Syndrome
* Progeria
* Proteus Syndrome
* Retinoblastoma
* Rett Syndrome
* Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome
* Sanfilippo Syndrome
* Shwachman Syndrome
* Sickle Cell Disease
* Smith-Magenis Syndrome
* Stickler Syndrome
* Tay-Sachs
* Thrombocytopenia Absent Radius (TAR) Syndrome@
* Treacher Collins Syndrome
* Trisomy
* Tuberous Sclerosis
* Turner's Syndrome
* Urea Cycle Disorder
* von Hippel-Lindau Disease
* Waardenburg Syndrome
* Williams Syndrome
* Wilson's Disease

Answer 10

Down Syndrome