Taking a Look at Huntingtons Disease - 1745 Words

Introduction Huntington’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. The cytoplasmic protein affected in Huntington’s disease is Huntingtin, coded for by the Huntingtin gene. The mutated version of the Huntingtin protein has several degenerative consequences on the molecular level. These are mainly caused by the elongated chain of glutamines that abberantly interacts with proteins and diminishes their biological functions. The mutated protein also tends to misfold and form aggregates in neurons, diminishing normal neural functions and producing the phenotypic traits characterized by Huntington’s disease. Discovery cause of the mutated gene The symptomotology of Huntington’s have been recognized for several hundreds of years, but the etiology was ambiguous until recently when it was discovered that an expansion in the polyglutamine tract led to misfolding (citation). Although a lot of progress has been made, the way in which the mutant Huntingtin protein damages cells is still not fully understood. The events that preceede the discovery were crucial and are a perfect example of the use of pedigrees and linkage analysis to identify the locus of the causal gene of a disease. The first step in identifying the Huntingtin gene was to use pedigrees of affected families to establish that Huntington’s disease as an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern [79]. Over 100 scientists were involved in the following 10 year Huntington’sShow MoreRelatedHuntington s Disease, Symptoms, Etiology, Diagnosis, And Diagnosis1560 Words   |  7 PagesHuntington’s disease affect s 30,000 Americans and has 200,000 more Americans at risk to contract the disease. Huntington’s is now one of the most common brain disorders to be inherited. 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They are: ï ¿ ¼ ï ¿ ¼ ï‚ · Channelrhodopsin2 (ChR2) ï ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼ ï ¿ ¼ ï‚ · Halorhodopsin (NphR) ï ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼ Both are types of opsin proteins found in green algaeRead MoreWhat Is Meant By Designer Babies?1542 Words   |  7 PagesDuring embryo screening, a scientist would be able to tell what physical characteristics a child will grow to have; as well as whether or not this child is at risk of developing or will develop genetic disorders such as autism, down syndrome, Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s and many other disorders such as these. What genetically modifying the baby’s genes will do is eliminate those disorders when it is only an embryo so that the baby doe not develop any of these traits. Designer babies are generallyRead MoreEssay on Analytical Summaries4643 Words   |  19 Pagesthis is my textbook which you will need: In text citing is: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦and this is how it looks (Missimer, 2005). References Missimer, C. (2005). Good arguments: An introduction to critical thinking, 4th ed. (C. Jones- Owen, Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. READINGS The following two articles show breathtaking advances in the ability to detect whether a person will suffer from a particular genetic disease. The first article contains references to all three types of evidence discussed in