What is an Inherited Illness?

Inherited Illness

Inherited Illness

Family related health problems fall into two categories: physical and mental illnesses or syndromes. There are several types of illnesses in both categories that are genetically inherited, often passed down strictly through either the maternal or paternal side of the family genealogy.

One example of a family related disease of a physical nature is that of breast cancer. Generally speaking when a mother experiences breast cancer her daughters should receive regular mammograms in response to their mothers condition. It is a recognized fact in the health community that cancer is indeed inherited through a genetic link.

Sometimes however cancer may skip a generation or even two. A cancer that a grandparent or great-grandparent suffered might not be expressed again until the arrival of grandchildren or great-grandchildren. Unfortunately, one drawback in this case is that early signs of cancer might go unnoticed since cancer in ones ancestors may eventually be forgotten and simply become a part of family history.

Another family related health problem is obesity. It is an undeniable fact that the majority of obese people hail from an obese family genealogy. A conflicting viewpoint is that lifestyle, rather than genetics plays a role in this condition, yet most researchers are undecided on this issue. To be sure lifestyle characteristics are learned from an early age and the sedentary family with poor eating habits is doing a disservice to their children. However, those families who lead a reasonable lifestyle yet continue to suffer weight problems may well express an inherited genetic tendency toward obesity.

Family related mental health problems are also genetically linked. Mood disorders such as Bipolar Disorder and psychoses such as Schizophrenia are typical examples of inherited mental illness. These illnesses too can often skip a generation or two within a family genealogy and therefore go unrecognized and untreated for several years.

Drug and alcohol addictions are yet another family related health problem. The argument again with this issue is whether or not there is an inherited propensity towards addiction or if such a condition is the result of the familial environment. Perhaps there is room for confusion about drug and alcohol addiction as a possible genetic problem since many families may have only one member who suffers from drug dependency. The argument surrounding this phenomenon then is whether or not it is possible that only one family member can inherit a drug or alcohol dependency while others do not.

Finally there is another category entirely of family related health problems. Is it possible to create such an unhappy and dysfunctional environment that family members may become physically and emotionally ill? It would seem that this is very possibly the case, particularly in families experiencing neglect and harsh abuse. In this instance the concept of family related health problems is very literal, as these unfortunate issues are brought about solely by the familial environment and not by an inherited condition.

Blood Matters From Inherited Illness to Designer Babies, How the World & I Found Ourselves in th Future of the Gene [HC,2008]
publisher: Huughtun Mlfflln Hercuurt2008, published: 2008
ASIN: B004C7G73G
price: $76.49 (used)

The Genetics of Illness and Disease, Linus Pauling
www.youtube.com www.encognitive.com Narrator Dr. Pauling, in the last few years you have become interested in the biochemical basis of medicine, mental disease, and so on. Could you tell us what led you into this new work? Dr. Pauling: Well, I think that it was the discovery of sickle cell anemia as a molecular disease that has led to our present activities on the chemical basis of mental disease. You see, nobody had thought before that there could be abnormal molecules of proteins and that they could be responsible for disease. Genetic diseases have been known. You know that each human being has about, let´s say, a hundred thousand genes that he has inherited from his father and mother. Half from his father and half from the mother. These genes are now known to be molecules of a substance called deoxyribonucleic acid and each of these molecules has a little code of information on it that permits it to manufacture duplicates of itself to be handed on for example, to one´s children, and also to manufacture special molecules such as the molecules of proteins, in which each atom is put in its right place in this product molecule. Each of these genes sets up an assembly line for manufacturing protein molecules. When we began studying hemoglobin — the abnormal hemoglobin that produces sickle cell anemia — we found a very interesting result. The hemoglobin in the apparatus in which an electric field operates on the hemoglobin molecules and pulls normal hemoglobin molecules to …