Genetically Inherited Diseases

Genetically Inherited Diseases
It was difficult to diagnose genetically inherited diseases, but with the advance in technology, there have been breakthroughs that have enabled persons predisposed to genetic diseases to get diagnoses early, before the birth of a child. This way, they will know the chances of the disease being inherited by the unborn child. However, this technology is yet to permeate and reach potential sufferers and so genetically inherited diseases are a reality of the 21st century. Genetically inherited diseases rages form ALS or Lou Gehrig's syndrome to Huntington's disease.

Diagnosis of these diseases was usually done after the effects on the life of the sufferer have become irreversible and the person has been taken to a mental institution. A neurologist will assess the mental functions and the family diseases of the person to make a clear cut diagnosis. A CT scan is performed on the person and genetic tests to analyze the DNA of the person and the likelihood of the genetic disease. For a person displaying obvious symptoms, the genetic tests need not be done, although they are dome as a medical procedure to confirm the disease.

Testing for genetically inherited diseases is done at three stages; at the prenatal stage before the birth of a child, at the developmental stages of a child and after the development of the symptoms of a genetically inherited disease. The prenatal stage is the best stage in the opinion of many medical practitioners. This is not done on just any expectant mother, but on those mothers with the genetic predisposition to the disease. At the developmental stages of a child in a family with a history of any genetically inherited disease, the child may be tested for the disease so as to be wary of the symptoms and to know the chances of developing the disease late in life. Although there is nothing that can be done to prevent the disease even with early diagnosis, the family will be well prepared psychologically to handle the disease in the event that the child is infected. The testing after the symptoms is mainly confirmation of suspicion of the genetically inherited disease.

Genetically inherited diseases involve the passing of a gene that is faulty from one generation to the other. In some genetically inherited diseases, the faulty gene is dominant and is recessive in some. A recessive gene rarely has any harm but a dominant gene manifests itself in the life of the person later in life.