ALS is a disorder that affects the function of nerves and muscles. Based on U.S. population studies, a little over 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year. (That's 15 new cases a day.) It is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans have the disease at any given time. According to the ALS CARE Database, 60% of the people with ALS in the Database are men and 93% of patients in the Database are Caucasian.
A summary of the genetics of muscular dystrophy and inheritance patterns of muscle diseases
Huntingtons disease is an hereditary disorder of the central nervous system. It is caused by a faulty gene. If one of your parents or another relative has Huntingtons disease then you will probably be wondering about the likelihood of developing the disease yourself.
This fact sheet explains:
how Huntingtons disease is passed on
the likelihood of developing the disease
genetic testing
the Huntingtons gene
having children including foetal exclusion testing
Migraine affects people of all ages, social classes, races and cultures. However, it is most prevalent during the productive years (20-50) and two thirds of sufferers are women. There may be a genetic predisposition to the condition as it often runs in families.
Generally, having a learning disability does not cause epilepsy, and having epilepsy does not cause learning disabilities. However, some people may have both epilepsy and learning disabilities if both are caused by the same underlying problem in the way their brain works.
Some types of cerebellar ataxia are inherited and some are not. This leaflet has been written to provide information on the inherited ataxias. If after reading this leaflet you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at the Ataxia UK office.
The basic structural unit of all living organisms is the cell. Our bodies are made from billions of cells which combine and work together to make every part of our body. Cells have different roles within the body. Cells that perform similar tasks group together to form tissues, such as your kidneys, liver and muscle.
Here the condition becomes apparent even though the affected person has only one abnormal gene. Either sex can have the condition and each child of an affected parent has a 50% chance of being affected.
These conditions become apparent only if both parents carry a faulty gene but the parents themselves do not manifest any symptoms. Each child of such parents has a 25% chance of carrying both abnormal genes and therefore of being affected. Either sex can have the condition.
In the world of obstetrics, Hughes Syndrome is now recognised as the most common treatable cause of recurrent miscarriage.
Many individuals believe that the condition known as Fibromyalgia is a hereditary condition and can be passed down from generation to generation. However studies have shown that although this is the case in some families it is not the case in others here we look at the case for and against.
Preimplanation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), first developed in the 1980's, is the application of genetic testing on a live embryo to determine the presence, absence or change in a specific gene or chromosome prior to the placement of the embryo in the womb
Most patients experience the onset of symptoms of narcolepsy between the ages of 15 and 30. However, onset at young childhood and middle age does sometimes occur.
This is an almost inevitable question to ask when something as significant as a brain injury happens to us. Why did this happen to me? Why do I have to cope with all this? Ive done nothing to deserve this, why am I being punished? Why me, why not someone else?
We have a natural tendency to want to blame someone or at least something. It is part of our desire to be able to explain the world, to make things out there predictable and understandable. Human beings do not like being in the dark about things, unable to explain what is going on. It makes us feel insecure. However, the simple fact is that all brain injuries occur through accidents and illnesses. Its often just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even when there is someone else who is clearly to blame, they may not have acted deliberately. Brain injury can happen to anyone, from any section of the community at any time.
An information sheet on family history and Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).
An information sheet on genetic inheritance and testing
Asthma is often thought to be a condition you get when you are a child and for many, asthma does start in childhood. However, some people are diagnosed with asthma for the first time later in life. This is known as 'adult onset asthma'.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) affects many different types of people. In most people with PH, it is associated with another medical condition.