Inherited diseases
Inherited diseases are diseases passed on to you by your family. You can not control whether or not you have a certain disease as you will be born with it. Your siblings could have a inherited disease but that doesn't mean you will have it. It is all down to a random selection of alleles that make up you.
- Created by: Isabel Newland-Smith
- Created on: 13-01-10 14:37
About inherited diseases
Inherited diseases are diseases passed on to you by your family. You can not control wether or not you have a certain disease as you will be born with it. Your siblings could have a iherited disease but that doesn't mean you will have it. It is all down to a random selection of alleles that make up you.
Inherited diseases will either be dominant or ressesive.If it is domanant this means itsa dominant allele that is carrying the disease. But if it is ressesive this means it's not dominant. An example: Cystic firosis - recessive allele (little f) so if you would need both your alleles to be little f's to suffer this disease. If you have a big and a little f you will not suffer but will be a carrier of this disease.
How not to pass on a iherited disease
You can not decide whether or not you child will have a genetic disease, you may not even know you have it. But you can find out by looking back into your familys history and finding out if anyone had a genetic disorder. If somone did you could have your embryos screened. This is where a doctor looks at some of your fertilised eggs (embryos) and they will tell you if any of them have a iherited disease. This way you can pick a healthy child .
May people think screening is wrong and that it's immoral. Others think it is wrong because it could damage the embryos.Many people screen thier embryos because: they don't want their child to suffer from a inherited disease, they can't afford to look after a il child, it would be to emotional for the coupleor because they already have other children to look after aswell
Huntingtons Chorea
Huntingtons chorea is a serious iherited disease that is caused by a dominant allele.
It is quite rare but can cause mental deficiency and abnormal jerking movements which can not be controlled.
The effects normally become noticed by the age of 30
Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic firosis is a serious, recessive disease. It effects the lungs and pancreas, this causes chest infections and poor absorbtion of food. Lungs get very clogged with a sticky mucus which is hard to cough up. The persons health begins to detiriorate.
Treatment is with antibiotics and chest physiotheraphy.
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