Diseases - IlCat.org

Ron Said:

is colour blindness a genetically inherited disease?

We Answered:

Yes. It is actually inherited from the mother, but it is more likely to effect males than females.

Larry Said:

How is the genetic disorder gauchers disease genetically inherited?

We Answered:

The Gaucher's disease is autosomal recessive. That means that both parents must have the gene. Then, out of four children, one will have the disease, two will be carriers, meraning that they will carry the gene but will not suffer the disease, and the fourth will not have the gene and will be healthy.

Floyd Said:

Is down syndrome genetically inherited disease or is it a predisposition to the disease that is inherited?

We Answered:

Please disregard the above answers

This is not a genetically inherited disease, but a disorder of chromosomal separation in the germ cells - so it is genetic in the sense that it's in the genes, but not inherited in the sense of autosomal dominant etc.

It is caused by an extra 21st chromosome (there are usually two, but down syndome babies have 3 - hence it's also called trisomy 21).

Teresa Said:

What are genetically inherited diseases?

We Answered:

Simply put.
Normally you get a disease by 'foreign' objects entering your body. (bacteria, viruses) or outside influences (i.e. radiation).
A genetically inherited disease is in your body from the moment you are born. The disease is present in the genes of one of your parents and there is a chance that you inherit it.
Note that there is a chance, it will not always happen.

Pearl Said:

What causes a disease to be inherited genetically by race/ethnicity?

We Answered:

A genetic disorder is caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes.
Some genetic disorders are caused by chromosomal abnormalities due to errors in meiosis, the process which produces reproductive cells such as sperm and eggs. For example, Down's Syndrome ( extra chromosome 21), Turner Syndrome (45 "XO") and, Klinefelter's Syndrome ( a male with 2 " X" chromosomes).
Other genetic changes may occur during the production of germs cells by the parent. One example is the triplet expansion repeat mutations which cause fragile X syndrome or, Huntington's disease.
Germ cells are normally haploid, which means they contain half the chromosomes of somatic cells, or 23 chromosomes, including one of the sex chromosomes. Germ cells are involved in the reproduction of organisms; a " X " from the mother and a "X" or "Y" from the father.
** Defective genes may also be inherited intact from the parents. In this case, the genetic disorder is known as a " hereditary disease.
** Currently about 4,000 genetic disorders are known, with more being discovered.
** Cystic Fibrosis is one of the most common genetic disorders; around 5% of the population in the US carry st least one copy of the defective gene.
And, yes there are genetic disorders that are more race specific than other, based upon the above mentioned causes.
I apologize for such a lengthy answer but, your question was quite interesting to me.
I hope that this is useful. Ruth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inherited_d…




Ruth