15 Chapter Health and Wellness How Genes Affect Health
15 Chapter Health and Wellness INTRODUCTION Babies inherit about 100,000 different genes from their parents The advances in diagnosing and detecting inherited disorders have generated complex economic, personal, social and ethical problems
15 Chapter Health and Wellness CONGENITAL DEFECTS AND TERATOGENS Newborns with observable physical or biological abnormalities - C ongenital defects Most congenital defects are due to a complex interaction of genes and environment
15 Chapter Health and Wellness Environmental agents during pregnancy prescription and illegal drugs viral and bacterial infections alcohol consumption during pregnancy smoking
15 Chapter Health and Wellness Nutrition Prevents Defects Folic Acid(Folate) –Need to get adequate during pregnancy –Beans, green leafy veggies –Good for nerve development
15 Chapter Health and Wellness Environmental Factors/Healthy Birth Alcohol- most common problem and effect Drugs Smoking Caffeine Bacteria/virus
15 Chapter Health and Wellness Hereditary Diseases A hereditary (genetic) disease results from a defective gene that is passed on to the child in the sperm, egg, or both As a result of the defective gene(s), a protein is either not produced or is abnormal, causing the problem
15 Chapter Health and Wellness Examples of Hereditary Diseases Hemophilia - an enzyme called Factor III is defective Phenylketonuria (PKU) - a enzyme that is needed to digest amino acid, phenylalanine, is defective Sickle cell disease - defect in hemoglobin proteins in red blood cells
15 Chapter Health and Wellness HUMAN HEREDITY: Genes Genes are present in chromosomes in a chemical substance called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) Altogether the 46 human chromosomes have about 200,000 genes that uniquely determine a human being
15 Chapter Health and Wellness PREVENTING GENETIC DISEASES:Prenatal Testing Genetic counseling allows a couple to be fully informed before, during and after a pregnancy with regards to genetic defects Amniocentesis Ultrasound scanning
15 Chapter Health and Wellness
15 Chapter Health and Wellness PREVENTING GENETIC DISEASES: Very few hereditary diseases can be treated effectively -- PKU is an exception Gene therapy is a technique for replacing defective genes with normal ones in certain tissues of a person affected with a hereditary disease
15 Chapter Health and Wellness Genetic Testing The human Genome Project Genetic tests that predict disease risk –Breast cancer –Colon cancer –Alzheimers disease.
15 Chapter Health and Wellness Genes=Traits 1 gene=many traits Many genes=1trait
15 Chapter Health and Wellness Genetics Or Environment Many Traits/Diseases unknown % –Hypertension –Allergies –Depression –IQ –alcoholism