Genealogy and Biology are two areas of study that go hand in hand. As you work on your genealogy research, it is possible that you will discover than an ancestor had a disorder that can be genetically passed on to his or her offspring. This sort of information is important for your health. Most people would want to know if they have the potential of developing certain genetic disorders, or if they could pass them onto their children.
There are some genetic disorders that you might be familiar with. Most people know what Down Syndrome, Tay-Sachs, and Hemophilia are. You may know someone, or know of someone, who has one of these disorders. These are just a few more of the genetic disorders that may be passed down from one ancestor to another.
It is possible to be screened to see if you carry the gene for certain kinds of cancers. Breast cancer is something that one in nine American women will develop. People who carry a mutated form of the gene of either BRCA1 or BRCA2 have an increased risk of developing breast cancer. This includes both women and men. Parents who carry this gene can pass it onto their children. Their children will have a 50% chance of inheriting a mutated BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. Having a mutated gene does not mean that the person will absolutely, without a doubt, develop cancer, and it is possible to develop cancer without having one of these mutated genes.
Huntington’s Disease is a neurological disorder that causes involuntary muscle movements, a decline in cognitive abilities, and severe emotional disturbance. This disorder is caused by a mutation on the HD gene of chromosome 4. This is a dominant gene. A parent who has the HD mutation has a 50% chance of passing it onto each one of their children.
Parkinson’s Disease is another neurological condition that causes a person to experience tremors, and may also cause stiffness in movement. There are seven different genes that cause some form of Parkinson’s disease. Some of them are dominant genes, and some are recessive.
Sickle Cell Disease is a blood disorder. It is caused by a mutation on chromosome 11, in the hemoglobin-Beta gene. This gives a person abnormally shaped blood cells, that cannot move through the blood vessels as they should. It is also called Sickle Cell Anemia. A person born with Sickle Cell Disease has received the mutated gene from each of his or her parents. If both parents carry this mutated gene, their children have a 25% chance of having the disorder. Children who inherit one mutated gene from a parent have a 50% chance of carrying the gene, but will not exhibit symptoms.
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