Genetic Disorders: Neurofibromatosis

Affecting 1 in every 18,000 people, Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a genetic disease that destroys the myelin sheath surrounding a brain neuron. A brain neuron is an essential cell body that is responsible for muscle contractions and ultimately, our ability to move. Adrenoleukodystrophy is a devastating genetic mutation that affects X-chromosomes in both males and females. However, because males only have one X-chromosome, the outcome is catastrophic.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a common genetic disorder that affects the exocrine gland in the lungs, liver, pancreas, and intestines causing progressive disability due to multisystem failure. It is also known as “mucoviscidosis because of the mucus that builds up and blocks the respiratory system and pancreas”(Bedwell). Cystic Fibrosis affects the cells that produce mucus, sweat, and digestive juices. It causes these fluids to become thick and sticky. With them becoming so thick and sticky they can plug up tubes, duct, and passageways. Unfortunately, there is no real cure for Cystic Fibrosis. “Although, the new developments in treatment and management, the 50 percent survival rate from the 1970’s has greatly improved, allowing patients to continue to live their lives longer than ever expected in the past. New developments in prevention of exacerbations, therapy drugs and methods to preserve

Cystic fibrosis is a rare life threatening disease, that as of now has no cure. But with help from extensive research that is being conducted, there is soon to be a cure in the future for this disease. The disease attacks the digestive system and slowly over time shuts down the lungs.

There are many known genetic diseases in the world. There are different types such as chromosomal and monogenic. Chromosomal disorders are when someone has too many or not as many chromosome as they are suppose to have (46 total chromosomes). Chromosomal disorders can also manifest when there are structural abnormalities. Monogenic disorders are an inherited medical condition caused by a DNA abnormalities. These diseases occur all throughout the world today. Depending on what region of the world you are in depends on what the most common ones are. Cystic Fibrosis has become the most common lethal genetic disease in the United States as of 1999. Although there are treatments available, there is not a known cure, and the effects remain burdensome

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the most common fatal genetic diseases in Canada. This disease is the result of a mutation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), located on chromosome seven. CF causes the body to produce thick and sticky mucus that clogs the lungs, causes infections, and blocks the release of enzymes from the pancreas. The first such defective gene was identified by research geneticist Dr. Lap-chee Tusi in 1989 with his team at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The mutated copy of the gene is recessive, so a child must inherit both copies of the defective allele from his or her parents in order to express CF. In the past, parents realized that they were carriers only when their child was

Genetic instability refers to temporary or permanent unscheduled alterations within the genome occur and can occur both at chromosomal or nucleotide level. Instability at nucleotide level consists of increased frequency of base-pair mutation or amplified number of nucleotide repeat units such as trinucleotide repeats (TNR) in a gene which will show altered expression and malfunction of RNA and/or protein (Castel et al., 2010).

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most common and fatal genetic disease currently in the United States, affecting roughly 30,000 Americans each year (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2013). CF is an autosomal inherited disease that adversely affects the mucus and it’s production throughout the entire body. Mucus is normally a slippery substance that lubricates and protects vital organs and body systems including the lining of airways, reproductive system and digestive systems. Patients who are diagnosed with CF actually have mucus that is abnormally sticky and thick, which places them at a high risk for severe pulmonary, digestive, and reproductive problems. Specifically regarding the pulmonary system CF patients often develop clogged airways, leading to bacterial infections and breathing abnormalities such as chronic coughing, wheezing, inflammation and lung damage. As a result of this recurrent and problematic, this places the patient at an increased risk for permanent lung damage and disease. Over time due to recurrent, chronic lung infections the characteristic of the lungs begin to change as more and more scar tissue develop making them fibrotic and develop cysts.

Tay Sachs Disease is an inherited disorder that kills nerve cells in the brain, and also in the spinal cord. A couple of things that could cause this mutation is a missing enzyme. This is an enzyme called ganglioside, that is a fatty substance. Another reason why tay sachs could appear is a change in chromosomes. This is chromosome number 15. The gene is the HEXA gene, or hexosaminidase A. This is a recessive disorder that you can only inherit if both parents have tay sachs. Some symptoms to know if you have this disease is weakened muscles, startling of loud noises, seizures, hearing loss, blindness, and paralysis. If you’re an infant and you have tay sachs disease, you will start to gain abilities, like crawling, but then start to lose them.

There are many symptoms of NF1 such as, Neurofibromas that are common tumors in NF that develop on or just under the skin but can appear deeper in the body, also neurofibromas are composed of nervous system tissue and fibrous tissue. However lisch nodules are clumps of pigment in the iris, and can confirm a case of NF. Most serious symptoms of NF are shown at birth or early in life, one of these symptoms is known as scoliosis. Scoliosis is curvature of the spine. Often children with NF also have learning disabilities that impact writing and use of numbers as well as having increased head circumference which on a rare case can cause hydrocephalus which can be a serious problem (Martin 1). (Martin,1)

Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common genetic disorders. Patients with cystic fibrosis have many serious medical conditions and the majority only live to their mid-thirties. I will be looking at many different aspects of the disease such as, phenotypes, genotypes, and inheritance patterns. Also how the disease is diagnosed, treated, and the prognosis of the disease.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a genetic disorder that affects the nervous system, brain, and spinal cord. There are four types of disease courses linked to the genetic disorder MS. Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), primary-progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), and progressive-relapsing multiple sclerosis (PRMS) are the four disease courses of MS. MS is an autoimmune disease, where the body's own defense mechanism attacks itself. In MS, the immune system attacks the myelin sheath, which is a material that protects the nerve cells, and causes it to slow down or block signals between the body and brain. These blockages may lead to to the symptoms of MS, which are usually problems with

There are two types of diseases, infectious and genetic. Unlike infectious diseases that are caused by organisms such as bacteria, genetic disorders are caused by mutations in an organism’s DNA. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disorder that is recessive autosomal and causes the creation of thick and sticky mucus. Because the disorder is recessive there must be two recessive alleles present for the trait to be expressed. Whereas in dominant disorders only one dominant allele needs to be present to express a disorder. For there to be two recessive alleles, both of the parents must be homozygous recessive or heterozygous for the offspring to express the recessive trait. If the offspring is heterozygous they will become carriers of the disorder and

The main symptom of these disorders is tumors that form on the ends of nerves throughout the body. NF 1 is most commonly

My disorder research paper is about neurofibromatosis, which is a genetically-inherited disorder in which the nerve tissue grows tumors that may cause serious damage by compressing nerves and other tissues. The disorder affects all neural cells such as the Schwann cells and melanocytes. The melanocytes function abnormally in this disease, resulting to disordered skin pigmentation. The tumors would be able to cause bumps under the skin, colored spots, skeletal problems, and other neurological problems. Neurofibromatosis is also an autosomal dominant disorder, which means that only one copy of the affected gene is needed for the disorder to develop. In this case if there were only one parent who has neurofibromatosis,

Neurofibromatosis affects about 100,000 Americans. This disease can affect all ages, sexes, and ethnic groups. Neurofibromatosis is a nervous disorder that causes tumors inside and outside of the body. According to Norris M. Haynes (2011), Some individuals may only have mild skin lesions, and others may have more physically disfiguring tumors and life threatening complications. The chance of having this neurofibromatosis is a large concern to the patient and family, which is why it's important to understand the disorder. The three main factors of understanding what neurofibromatosis is, are signs and symptoms, causes and diagnosis, and treatments for the disease.