Alzheimer’s disease
Many different genetic disorders are affecting children and adults every day. Genetic disorders happen to be very common around the world. A genetic disorder is an illness abnormality in chromosomes. Either one or more chromosomes are mutated. A single gene disorder is caused by a single mutant gene. Polygenic disorders are caused by a combined number of mutant genes. Some genetic disorders are not fatal, but some genetic disorders happen to be fatal. Many people all over the world are either affected or killed by genetic disorders. Alzheimer’s disease is a serious and deadly genetic disorder. Alzheimer’s disease has been around for a very long time. In the mid eighteen hundreds, Alzheimer’s disease was being studied. AD was discovered by Alois Alzheimer. He was studying a woman named Auguste D. she was put in an asylum. Alois later determined that she had AD. “It wasn’t until 1910 when Alois named the genetic disorder Alzheimer’s disease” (Human Genome). Also, AD was known to be Senile dementia. Senile dementia is AD, is now the term used. Now, is the present time, today, AD is the fourth leading cause of death in America. “Between 2000 and 2006, heart disease deaths decreased 11.1%, stroke deaths decreased 18.2%, and prostate cancer- related deaths decreased 8.7%, where as deaths because of AD increased 46.1%” (Maslow 1). The number of deaths from AD is horrible, “Dramatic increases in the numbers of “oldest old” (aged 85 years and older) across all racial and ethnic groups will also significantly affect the numbers of people living with AD” (Pubmed 1). AD is dangerous, it affects different people. There are many characteristics for AD. To begin, is what chromosomes are mutated to cause AD. The chromosomes that have been mutated are Chromosomes 1, 14, and 21. AD is a point-mutation and is very dangerous. Chromosome 1 is the largest chromosome in the cell and chromosome 14 is the marker chromosome. Chromosome 21 is the human cell’s smallest chromosome. AD also affects different races more than others, “although whites make up the great majority of the more than five million people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, African-Americans and Hispanics are at higher risk” (Alzheimer’s Association 1). African Americans are two times more likely to gain AD than white Americans, Hispanics are about one and a half times more likely than white Americans. Both races have it hard for diagnosis, “Studies conducted in physician offices and clinics show that African-Americans and Hispanics are less likely than whites to have a diagnosis of the condition” (Alzheimer Association 1). Next is the number of people affected by AD. There is an estimated 5.3 million Americans living with AD, “Includes he 5.1 million people age 65 and over” (Alzheimer’s Association 1). Right now, every 70 seconds a American develops AD, other genetic disorders can be affected by AD. “Patients