Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a complex genetic disease that is highly treatable but which in a severe form can have a profound effect on the life of an individual. Evidence suggests that ADHD is primarily a polygenic disorder often...
The amount of hair that grows on each person is determined by heredity. Certain genetic factors such as hair color, type, thickness and amount of hair is all part of what a person is born with. At different times in life, genes may be turned off...
Heart disease is a multifactorial disease. Along with lifestyle choices such as smoking, exercise habits and diet, the risk of developing heart disease is strongly influenced by genetics. Many genes have been identified that are associated with...
Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive disease characterized by an increasing tolerance for alcohol, the inability to quit drinking, withdrawal symptoms during periods of abstinence, and more. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism...
Alzheimer's disease causes severe disruption in critical thinking, memory, judgment and social skills. The dementia of Alzheimer's occurs along with distinctive changes in the brain, including abnormal protein deposits of plaques and tangles. The...
Pamela McDonald, an integrative nurse practitioner trained in both Eastern alternative health practices and traditional Western medicine, authored "The Perfect Gene Diet: Use Your Body's Own Apo E Gene to Treat High Cholesterol, Weight Problems,...
Bipolar disorder, sometimes called manic-depression, is a mental illness known to be hereditary. The condition causes wide, sometimes disabling mood swings between euphoria and depression. According to the Mayo Clinic, signs of the "manic phase"...
Belly fat is a particularly dangerous area of fat. Fat cells have a hormonal impact on your body. This impact may leave you at risk for a variety of health conditions. The amount of fat on your belly is influenced not only by genetic factors but...
Huntington's is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects approximately 30,000 Americans. It causes problems with muscle coordination, mental decline and dementia, with onset of symptoms typically occurring between ages 35 and 44. This...
The surface of your skin contains millions of follicles that support hair growth. Each follicle contains a number of specialized cell types that allow for the cycles of hair growth, during which the follicle elongates the hair shaft, remains...
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the brain and central nervous system which affects movement and speech causing muscle rigidity and tremor. At present no cure exists, but symptoms can be managed with a combination of drugs,...
The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2009 more than 20,000 American women were diagnosed with, and over 14,000 women died from, ovarian cancer. Because of the difficulty in detecting ovarian cancer, this disease is known as a "silent...
Genes are molecules of nucleotides that encode for the traits seen in organisms, including humans. Genes are the code used to create proteins. These proteins are used for human traits. Blue eyes, skin color, height and facial features are all...
According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, or NHGRI, hereditary breast cancer accounts for as much as 27 percent of all female breast cancer. The hereditary forms of breast cancers occur when a gene change, or mutation, linked to...
Crohn's disease causes severe inflammation of the digestive system, with potentially serious complications. Although scientists know that some people inherit Crohn's disease, no single gene causes the disease. Crohn's disease is complex, meaning...
How Parkinson's disease is inherited is unclear. The majority of people who are diagnosed with Parkinson's have no family history of the disease. Only in rare cases does Parkinson's disease run in families. The Parkinson's Disease Society...
Although evidence shows that depression has a genetic component, scientists have struggled to identify the genes that contribute to its manifestation. Depression is common, influenced by the environment and life events. It is also complex in that...
Inherited traits from parents aren't just passed out in random fashion. Inherited traits are passed through the genes of parents to their children. Some traits are passed on only through the mother or only through the father. Others are passed on...
Genes are the individual building blocks that provide information for how the body is built. When a gene is damaged or mutated, information may be lost, and the result may be a genetic disease. An analogous situation would be baking from a recipe...
Type I diabetes is also known as insulin-dependent diabetes. Type I diabetes typically affects patients early in their lives, either in childhood or when they are young adults, although it can start later in life. Type I diabetes is caused by...
Over 200,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute. Between 5 and 10 percent of these cases are believed to be due to an inherited predisposition, where a genetic...
Hair color is determined by two different forms of pigment: eumelanin (which is the largest influence) and phenomelanin. Eumelanin is a black pigment, and phenomelanin is a red or yellow pigment. Hair color is determined by three factors having...
One of the most exciting aspects of having a child is to find out what traits she has inherited from her parents. Some traits are beneficial, while others may be harmful. The March of Dimes explains that inherited traits may be altered through...
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, more than 22 million people in the United States have asthma--and the risk for asthma is greater if a relative also has the condition. Many factors can contribute to inflammation and...
According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, "genetic testing" covers a wide variety of clinical and non-clinical tests and includes testing of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Breast cancer genetic tests use blood samples or tissue samples...
People with bipolar disorder suffer from alternating episodes of mania--uncontrolled exuberance--and depression. Studies have clearly established a role of heredity in bipolar disorder. Most scientists believe that many genes, each with a small...
Genetic diseases are those that are passed on from parent to child through genes that carry the codes for each specific trait. Many of the diseases and disorders that affect the eyes have genetic factors. Some diseases are linked to a single gene...
The prostate, a part of the male reproductive system, is made up of a number of cell types that work together to perform a range of actions that support male reproductive function. Prostate cancer develops when any of the cell types within the...
Proteins are large molecules comprising many molecules, including amino acids. They are abundant in nature, and can be found in every living cell. According to the Recombinant Antibody website, the characteristics of all organisms are determined...
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