Thursday, February 19, 2009

Symptoms of Progeria


Some of the symptoms of Progeria include:



  • growth failure

  • loss of body fat and hair

  • aged-looking skin

  • stiffness of joints

  • hip dislocation

  • generalized atherosclerosis

  • cardiovascular (heart) disease and stroke.

How is Progeria Diagnosed?

Baby's with Progeria appear normal until 18 months of age when the baby is not growing and it is evident something is wrong. Then genetic testing can prove whether a baby has Progeria or not.

Chances of a person with this disease passing the disease to their offspring?

People with Progeria do not survive long enough to have children and cannot produce sex hormones, therefore making the disease unable to be passed along

Genotypes of Progeria

Possible genotypes are heterozygus dominate or homozygus dominate

How Prevalent is Progeria in the World?

One in eight million (approx.) children are affected by Progeria :(

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

How does a person inherit Progeria? Is it dominant or recessive? Is it genetic or chromosomal?

In most cases Progeria is caused by mutations or genetic changes that occur for unknown reasons. Progeria is autosomal dominate disease that is genetic and incurable and unpreventable.

Bibliography

Sources I used to create my blog:

  1. Manbir, Manny. "Progeria". Manbir Online. 2/14/09 . <http://www.manbir-online.com/diseases/progeria.htm>.
  2. Carlen, Altman. "The Lighter Side of Progeria". Blog. 2/14/09 http://carlenaltman.blogspot.com/2007/07/lighter-side-of-progeria.html.
  3. American Pregnancy Foundation, "Progeria". American Pregnancy Foundation. 2/14/09 http://www.americanpregnancy.org/birthdefects/progeria.htm.
  4. Marcus, Dinartigo. "Verdades Amarges". Blog.com. 3/08/09 http://elmundoaldia.blog.com.es/2008/06/30/cura-para-la-vejez-prematura-4385792/.
  5. Michiel, Vandeweert. "Progeria Information". CenterAll. 3/08/09 http://www.progeriaeng.centerall.com/custom1.php.
  6. Progeria Research Foundation, "For School Reports". The Progeria Research Foundation. 3/08/09 http://www.progeriaresearch.org/faq.html.

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1. What is a Genetic Counselor?

Genetic counselors are professionals in health with specialized graduate degrees and experience in the areas of genetics and counseling. They come from variety of fields including: biology, genetics, nursing, psychology, public health, and social work. Counselors work as a team providing information and support to family's with genetics diseases. They help families at risk, interpret information about the disorder, analyze patterns of the disease in ones family and their risk of recurrence. Some also work on researching the diseases they help with.