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Genetics/Hereditary is the passing on of characteristics from one generation to the next. The process of genetics occurs among all living things including animals, plants, bacteria and fungi. Genetics are in molecules called Deoxyribonnucleic Acid (DNA). DNA is a necessary molecule that is apparent in all living things.
Genetically inherited diseases are diseases that are passed down through generations within your family. These diseases are specifically transfered through the genes in our DNA. These diseases are passed down by carriers of mutated and defective genes. It is important to be aware and understand what you may be at risk of contracting, due to your family history, so that if you are susceptible of becoming ill you can take precautinary measures to help prevent the illness from becoming life threatening.
Genetic illnesses are passed down from parents to their children through mutated and dysfunctional genes. Children diagnosed with genetic diseases may have inherited the abnormal, dysfunctional or mutated gene from either one, or both of their parents. Genetic diseases can be passed down through generations even if the carrier doesnt have any symptoms of carrying that disease. The risk of getting a genetic disease increases if both parents carry abnormal or dysfunctional genes. A couple of the most prevalent diseases that are passed through generations are Tay-Sachs disease and cystic fibrosis. Such illnesses as depression and even alcoholism can become more common in children if another family member has experienced the same illnesses.
Contagious or Not? The majority of genetic diseases occur at birth. You cannot catch the disease from someone else who has the disease. You are either born with the genetic disease in your DNA or not. So the disease can be inherited from your parents through the DNA, but you cannot catch the disease from someone who has it. No person with a genetic disease is contagious or infectious to the people around them.
Yes, depending on your gender you may be more suseptible to different genetic diseases. This is mainly because the male and female biochemistry is not the same. For example, Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disorder that affects a persons bones by making them incredibly weak. Women are five times more likely than men to develop osteoporosis. Not only is it more likely in women but it is greatly more common with menopausal women. Another genetic disease, Hemochromatosis, is an iron disorder that makes the body absorb more iron than is needed. For unknown reasons men are 5 times more prone to being diagnosed with this than women. It is estimated that 1 in 80 Australians will be effected with this disease, making it one of the most common inherited diseases. There is no cure for Hemochromatosis but it can be kept under control and if it is left untreated it can cause life threatening damage.
Men are also more prone to epilepsy than women. Despite the fact than 1 in every 200 people will experience a seizure at some point in their life. Twice as many women get Alzheimer's disease than men. Many believe that it is in a large part a result of the changes to women's hormones at menopause, in particular the decline of the important hormone oestrogen.
Gene therapy is an experimental technique that replaces faulty genes to prevent diseases. It is hoped that in the future that this technique will be a successful cure to Genetically Inherited Diseases. Gene Therapy is a process that envloves doctors inserting genes into a patients cell’s instead of using medication or surgery to prevent or cure the disease. The process’ that are being tested include replacing mutated genes with healthy copies of the gene; Inactivating a mutated gene that doesn’t function properly or introducing a new gene into the body that will help fight the disease.
Gene therapy is still in process of becoming a readily available treatment. It looks promising for many diseases such as some types of cancer, and certain viral infections. Study’s are still being performed to make sure that this technique is safe and effective. Gene Therapy is being created for diseases that currently have no cure. It is the dream of many scientists that eventually gene therapy will be created as a cure for many inheritable diseases.
There has already been one successful gene transplant that occurred in 1990. Two girls were cured of a rare blood disorder which was caused by a defective gene. Doctors and scientists used the process called Gene Transfer Therapy. Copies of the deformed gene were isolated and then they inserted the healthy gene into the bone marrow cells that were taken from the girls. After gene modified bone marrow was then inserted back into the girls’ bodies. This treatment was successful and both girls recovered and stayed healthy. This was the first time that a genetic disorder was cured by Gene Therapy.
Genetic screening is a process where newborns have their genes screened to become aware of any genetic diseases they might be vulnerable of getting or may be carriers of. It is usually only newborns that go through the process of genetic screening but Adults also can go through the same process. Some adults or families are screened before they think of having children so that they can become aware of any inheritable diseases that they may pass down through the generations. In the future it is hoped that every newborn will be screened for any inheritable diseases.
The genes that we inherit from our parents also affect your immune system. If the parents had a very low/weak immune system then the immune system of their child is most likely to be very susceptible to various infections.
Some diseases for example Tay-Sachs and Huntingtons are diseases that are not apparent at birth and develop as the child grows. In this case genetic screening has been extremely beneficial. Because of genetic screening at birth diseases that are not apparent can be diagnosed before it affects the child. By discovering what the child is susceptible to means that treatment to help prevent the disease or help to lessen the severities of it can take place before it becomes serious and/or life threatening.
