Genetics | Comprehensive Health & Medicine Resource

Is Long Life Genetic?

Some people have been known to live exceptionally long lives, whereas many people only make it part of the way into their 60s or 70s before they hit the end. Some people will ask for ways to make the former duration of life come about in everyone, whereas some other people will simply shrug their shoulders and claim that a higher power is at work, and that our life spans are not under our individual control. And to a point, both of these schools of thought are totally accurate. The trick is, while there is truth in both sides, there is also a bit of falsehood in both of them, as well. Many people have never thought through the matter enough to really consider this fact.

It is well known that some families produce a lot of people who live well over 80 years (which is currently considered to be the mark that separates an “average” life span from an exceptionally long one). And in some families, living to be 50 years old is considered to be a serious accomplishment. While there are most definitely some life style differences between these two extremes of life span, there is also most likely a role to be played by the genes of such families. The problem is when a person looks at only the natural or the nurture basis of such a result.

If a person spends their entire life being sedentary and eating the worst foods imaginable, all of the winning genes in the world are not going to help all that much. And if a person has enough genetic issues, than all of their best efforts may not garner them any additional life span to show for all of their hard work. The “either or” nature of many people’s estimations of how large of a role genetics plays in a family’s longevity is kind of foolish, when you really think about it. They’re both important.

Filed Under: Genetics Tagged With: Family (biology), Human, Life expectancy

Sickle Cell Anemia

Sickle cell anemia is one type of hereditary disorder that is a serious disease. It is characterized by the body making C shaped red blood cells, or sickle shaped. An abnormally shaped sickle cell is hard to move through blood vessels in the body. These cells are stiff, sticky and are apt to clump together and get stuck in the blood vessels. This is caused by them containing an abnormal hemog

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lobin which causes the odd shape.

Normal red blood cells are of a disc shape that is similar to a doughnut without the hole in the middle. These normal blood cells travel through blood vessels easily because they contain the hemoglobin protein. This protein is rich in iron and also give the blood cell its rich, red color. In addition, it carries oxygen from the lungs and to the rest of a person’s body.

When the sickle cells clump together, they block the flow of blood in the blood vessels that branch off to the organs and limbs of a person. These blocked vessels cause a number of issues such as pain, organ damage and life threatening infections.

Sickle cell anemia is a disease that people are born with. They inherit it from both parents with the sickle cell trait. It is a disease for life and there is no cure. Parents who have the trait can pass this gene to their offspring but it takes two parents with the trait to cause the disease. Some children have the trait but not the disease and this comes from getting one normal gene from one parent and the sickle cell trait from the other parent.

Even though there is no cure, there are treatments that help in some cases such as bone marrow transplants. Proper medical care and good health helps as well.

Filed Under: Genetics Tagged With: abnormal hemoglobin, hereditary disorde, life threatening infections, organ damage, Sickle cell anemia

Neurofibromatosis

Neurofibromatosis is a disorder that hereditary. It is passed down through the genes of the parents and is a condition that causes tumors to form on nerve tissue. This can cause skin and bone abnormalities that affect a person’s nerves, spinal cord, brain, skin and various systems throughout the body.

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Neurofibromatosis can be pinpointed in childhood, sometimes as early as infancy with children that have advanced cases. Some children have severe effects from the condition but some have very few issues whatsoever.

While there is no cure for Neurofibromatosi, tumors that form can be removed from the body and the complications that arise from these tumors can be treated. About half of the children who have Neurofibromatosi may have learning problems.

Neurofibromatosis can be diagnosed based on a number of different factors and findings. Some of the symptoms can be Lisch nodules on the irises of the eyes, skeletal abnormalities, cafe-au-lait spots on the skin in certain sizes, locations and numbers, family members with NF1 and freckles in the groin area or under the arms. However, for a definitive diagnosis, the child must have at least two of the symptoms.

Complications from neurofibromatosis can vary but is not limited to scoliosis, high blood pressure, early or delayed puberty, speech problems and impairment, seizures and optic nerve tumors.

Mild cases of neurofibromatosis will not necessarily lead to more severe symptoms in the future and these children, when diagnosed early, can lead normal, healthy lives typically. In fact, about 60% of people diagnosed with the disorder only have mild symptoms of the disease and lead healthy lives.

There are two types of neurofibromatosis; NF1 and NF2. The NF1 disorder is the most common and is known as von Recklinghausen disease. NF2 is much more rare than NF1 and tends to cause hearing loss and balance problems in those affected.

Filed Under: Genetics Tagged With: early or delayed puberty, high blood pressure, neurofibromatosis, seizures

The fat Gene: Myth or Foolishness?

A lot of people (specifically, rotund people for the most part) have developed this silly notion that a person’s size and weight have some kind of a genetic basis to them. And while it might be tempting to simply blame the genes that your parents gave you for the life you are living right now, this is irresponsible to the point of idiocy. After all, you are the person who chooses how much you work out, and you are also the person who chooses what you eat every day. So if your body type is not what you desire it to be, how could you really blame it on your DNA? Obviously, some people are more prone to being fat than other people are. But this is a small differential, at most.

Everyone knows that when you eat less calories than you burn over an extended period, you lose weight. And as well, when you take in more calories than you burn, you gain weight. If you have a lot of small muscle damage, your muscles get repaired first, and you grow larger in the form of becoming more buff. However, if you are simply storing away more fat reserves for a famine which will most likely never come around, you gain your weight in the form of becoming rotund. What do these things have to do with your genes?

The answer is, they have almost nothing to do with the genes your family gave you. All of the genetic evidence to suggest that genes play any part whatsoever in a person’s weight indicate that the differential could be compensated for easily through diet and exercise. Examples of “fat families” have universally been demonstrated to be due to their mutual practice of diet and exercise habits, and as having nothing whatsoever to so with the genes which they share. After all, your genes are not your destiny- what you do every day makes your destiny.

Filed Under: Genetic disorder, Genetics Tagged With: DNA, Gene, Health, Weight loss

Cri du Chat Syndrome

Cri du Chat syndrome is a genetic disorder that is quite rare. It only occurs in about 1 in 20,000 to 50,000 births. It is a disorder that affects the nervous system and larynx and gets its name from the baby’s cry in those affected. The newborn will sound similar to a kitten and this is due to the problems with the larynx. Most children will get better by the time they are 2 years of age. However, there are issues with the disorder that can cause problems.

These issues include a low birth weight, poor motor skills, uncommon facial traits, feeding issues due to the problems with sucking and swallowing, speech delays, motor and cognitive delays, and behavioral problems. The behavioral problems include hyperactivity, repetitive movements and even aggression. Some infants are born with heart defects and some believe it to cause severe learning disabilities in those with the syndrome.

What causes Cri du Chat is a chromosomal problem that occurs when a piece of chromosome 5 is missing. While most people do not inherit this syndrome, about 10 percent of the cases do. In these 10 percent, the mother or father carries a chromosomal rearrangement called a balanced translocation, where no genetic material is lost or gained. Most cases are believed to happen during the development of the egg or sperm.

While there are no known treatments, parents can have genetic counseling to be sure that one of the parents has the rearrangement of chromosome 5.

The unique crying does dissipate over time, however some children may have mental retardation or a host of other issues with Cri du Chat. There is also no preventative measures available. However, genetic counseling is again, a good idea for parents to consider to be sure that they are not carrying this trait.

Filed Under: Genetics Tagged With: behavioral problems, Cri du Chat, genetic disorder, low birth weigh

Hemophilia

Hemophilia is bleeding disorder that is rare. This disease is usually hereditary, meaning that it is passed on by a parent with the gene. What hemophilia means is that the person does not have any clotting factor or very little clotting factor. This is the protein that is required for normal clotting. There are different types of clotting factors and those proteins are what works with platelets in the body to help the blood clot properly.

Platelets are tiny blood cell portions that are formed in the bone marrow, which is a tissue in the bones with a sponge like density. Platelets are what play a major role in the clotting factor of a human being. When a blood vessel or blood vessels are damaged, the clotting factors are what help the platelets bind together to plug up breaks and cuts at the site of the injury. This helps stop the bleeding. When a person does not have the necessary clotting factors, blood clotting that would normally take place cannot form. There are some that have the hemophilia disorder who receive clotting factor injections to help stop bleeding.

There are typically two types of hemophilia; hemophilia A and hemophilia B. Persons with hemophilia A are missing the clotting factor VIII or have very low levels of this factor. The persons who have hemophilia B have a non-existent or low level of clotting factor IX. On average, 9 out of 10 people have the hemophilia A disorder.

Although rare, some people can develop hemophilia in their lifetime if their body forms antibodies, known as proteins, to the clotting factors in their bloodstream. This is highly unlikely since usually hemophilia is inherited.

Hemophilia can be at different levels of seriousness. From mild to severe and in between, it all depends on how much of the clotting factor is in the blood.

Filed Under: Genetics Tagged With: bleeding disorder, clotting factors, Hemophilia, hemophilia A and hemophilia B

Turners Syndrome: A Genetic Body Condition

Turner syndrome is a genetic disease which is cause because of the absence of a sex chromosome. This disease is more prominent in females. It is unknown what causes this disease, but it is occurs are the time of exchange of genes where one whole chromosome is lost. The girl born with this condition will have only one X chromosome instead of the usual two. This is one of the worse types of genetic diseases where the patient is born with multiple physical and even mental abnormalities.

Some of the symptoms of Turners Syndrome are short stature, sterility, absence of menstrual cycles, webbed neck, deformed ears, congenital heart disease, diabetes, hypo thyroidism, hearing problems, high hip to waist ratio, swollen legs, Attention deficit disorders, small finger nails, etc and many more such features that sets the person with this condition apart form others. There are many other abnormal features that take part in this process, and no two people will have the same symptoms.

Detection of this symptom is very easy, but so cannot be said about its treatment. Height of the girl can be increased by treatment with growth hormones but other deformities cannot be avoided. Children with this syndrome also have heart problems and it is because of the cardiovascular system that most of the patients die. It is mostly due to the defects in the congenital heart and other diseases of the heart. The characteristic of a turns syndrome can be judged by amenorrhea, infertility, streak gonads and other such diseases of the reproductive system that make bearing a child impossible, but technology today is making giving births possible by using various technologies. The child also does not develops proper skeletal bones, and the brain is rather slower than usual. Hence a genetic test before birth can tell if a child is going to face this syndrome or not.

Filed Under: Genetics, Health Tagged With: congenital disorder, Heart disease, Turner syndrome

Hemophilia: A Genetic blood Condition

Hemophilia is a genetic disease of the blood where the blood fails to clot. It is because of a number of conditions where the blood clotting property of the blood is lost. It is one of the most common disorders associated with inbreeding in humans. This also can be termed the most common type of disorder which occurs in one individual in 10,000 births in male and one in 34,000 female births. This is an X chromosome based disorder hence it is more common in males than in females. Men have only one X chromosome, whereas females have two X chromosome. If a X chromosome with a Hemophilia gene is in females, it can be repressed by the other X chromosome. Many females are carriers instead of this disease affecting them. They pass it onto males by inheriting from their fathers or mothers.

In this condition the factors that control the clotting factor in the plasma are lowered. This ceases the clotting of blood when the skin opens up. In a normal process the fibrin is formed which forms on top of the scab. But in a person with hemophilia, the blood fails to clot because of inability of fibrin to make a patch on the skin. The person bleeds for a much longer time and can also lead to the death of a person from excessive bleeding if no precaution is taken. If the injury is inside the brain or joints, this can cause excessive damage to muscles and other tissues leading to infection of the entire areas.

In people with deficiency in vitamin K, this disease can be seen, where the blood fails to clot. This occurs only in little children and is often confused for a genetic disease. People with disease have to be careful of getting cuts and bruises and should avoid any kind of rough sport.

Filed Under: Genetics, Health Tagged With: Coagulation, genetic disorder, Haemophilia

Traits: To Be or Not To Be

Has someone told you that you walk just like your grandfather? Or your hair is just like your mother’s was at your age? These are observations of traits, certain features that are passed down from generation to generation. Traits are a prominent characteristic that is seen in a person, whether it be a physical trait or a behavioral trait. While specifically programmed instructions in genes play a significant role in defining certain traits, there are also environmental factors that influence how traits are shaped. In some cases, these environmental factors can even completely change a trait.

There are three types of traits:
-Physical traits- these are specific physical characteristics such as eye color, height or hair type that are inherited from family members.
-Behavioral traits- the individuality of a person, of how they act or their personality.
-Predisposition traits- these are present when there is an increased risk of a person developing a certain medical condition due to their family’s genetic makeup. Some diseases that factor in this way are cancer, heart disease and some types of mental illness.

Inside all genes are programmed instructions that tell what factors will play a role in all traits. That being said, the environmental factors that influence individual lives play a part likely just as important in shaping traits. In some cases, these environmental factors can completely change a trait. Specific examples in illustration:
-In physical traits, the genetics decide a person’s natural hair color. By the same token, environmental factors such as the sun’s rays can lighten or even change the hair color completely.
-When it comes to behavioral traits, a Labrador retriever dog is bred to chase and bring back objects. The environmental factors come in when the dog is taught to roll over when the ball is tossed. Despite what is in his genes, the teaching of the trick will override that behavioral trait.
-Lastly, in the predisposition to certain medical conditions while genetics may dictate that a person has an increased risk of heart disease, the environmental factors of a healthy diet and plenty of exercise will diminish that risk.

Filed Under: Conditions and Diseases, Genetics, Health Tagged With: Disease, Genetics, Heart disease, Mental disorder

Berries for a Healthy Brain

Certain berries have been found to keep the brain healthier and more alert. These berries, such as acai berries, strawberries and blueberries, work in a unique way that was unfounded until recently. What the berries do is activate the brain’s natural cleaning mechanism, which gets rid of and recycles proteins that are toxic. These proteins have been linked to mental decline and ag

e related memory loss such as Alzheimer’s Disease.

What happens when we age is that our body’s ability to protect against inflamtion and oxidant damage. When this takes place, the body cannot fight as well against certain diseases such as cancer, heart disease, degenerative brain diseases and age related diseases.

Certain vegetables, nuts and fruits have a natural compound called polyphenolics, which has an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect. These help compounds help to combat age degeneration and decline.

Tests done on lab rats have shown that when fed the high antioxidant fruits, the age decline process in remembering and learning new things had reversed. The nerve functions had actually become more efficient with the diet.

When we age, debris builds up in microglia cells and instead of removing and recycling this debris, the build up causes degeneration. This happens naturally in the aging process but the foods with a high content of polyphenolics act as a cleaning crew, to rid the brain cells of the disabling debris. They effectively restore this cleaning crew process or housekeeping, as some would call it.

More evidence has shown that other vegetables, nuts and fruits are a good source of this compound. Fruits and vegetables with rich, dark colors are due to the pigments called anthocyanins and contain a plethora of antioxidants and healthy, natural chemicals. Whole fruits are the best way to consume the healthy benefits but even frozen fruits can aid in the process.

Filed Under: Genetics Tagged With: anthocyanins, berries, oxidant damage, polyphenolics

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