Other Diseases & Disabilities

Hereditary Diseases ~ Diseases caused by

abnormal chromosomes or by defective genes inherited from one or both parents.

Genes

• ~ Segments of DNA located on a chromosomes that code for a specific hereditary trait

Single-gene Diseases

~ Occur when 1 gene out of 30,000 to 40,000 genes in the body has a harmful mutation.

Mutation

~ When a gene carries incorrect instructions

Huntington’s disease

~ degeneration of brain cells

Sickle cell anemia

~ blood disease in which the body produces defective hemoglobin.

Hemophilia

~ blood disease in which the body produces little or none of the blood proteins necessary for clotting.

Cystic fibrosis ~ disease of the body’s

mucous glands. It primarily affects the respiratory and digestive systems of children and young adults.

Complex Diseases ~ More than one gene influences the onset of

a disease. Lifestyle behaviors can contribute to a person’s chance of developing a complex disease

~ CVD’s such as stroke, high blood pressure, heart attacks, arteriosclerosis, type 2 diabetes and cancer are examples of complex diseases.

Chromosomal Diseases ~ When a person inherits the wrong number

of chromosomes or an incomplete chromosome.

~ Humans normally have 23 chromosomes in each cell.

~ Most common Chromosomal Disease in the U.S. is Down Syndrome.

Immune Disorders ~ If the immune system does not

function properly it can result in an immune disorder.

~ Examples of immune disorders are allergies, asthma and AIDS.

Autoimmune Diseases ~ When the immune system

attacks the cells of the body that the immune system normally protect.

~ Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune diseases are in which the immune system attacks the joints.

~ Multiple Sclerosis occurs when the immune system attacks the fatty insulation of nerves in the brain and spinal cord.