Huntington’s Disease
Introduction
Genetic diseases are caused by any abnormality that might occur in an individual’s genome. Some genetic disorders are transmitted or inherited from parents to their offspring while others are caused by acquired mutation or changes in an already existing gene. Mutations can take place randomly or due to some environmental factors. There are different modes of genetic disorders that include single gene and multifactorial inheritance, chromosome abnormalities, and mitochondrial inheritance. A genetic disease is caused by an abnormality in an individual’s genetic structure. This idiosyncrancy can range from a mild mutation involving a single gene to a gross abnormality that encompasses an entire chromosome set. I will explore the inherited single gene, autosomal dominant disorder Huntington’s Disease.
Huntington’s Disease
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HD deteriorates an individual’s mental and physical abilities during their most productive years of life and it has no cure. In the later stages of the disease, full time care is required for the patient, with existing non-drug and pharmaceutical interventions being able to relieve a majority of its symptoms. It is interesting to note that the disorder has a higher probability of affecting individuals of Western European decent compared to those of African or Asian ancestry and it affects both men and women (Ross and Tabrizi