Knowing your family health history can help you be proactive in fighting the diseases that you may have inherited. To know about family health history, you will have to ask the right types of questions. Here are some of the questions you should ask every family member that you can get in touch with:

• What diseases have you suffered from?
• What age did you begin to suffer from this disease?
• What types of treatments did you undergo with this disease?
• Was treatment started during the beginning stages of the disease?
• Was the treatment effective?

Along with asking questions about diseases, you want to gather other information about them such as:

• The person’s relationship to you
• Race, ethnicity, where the person originated from if he/she migrated from another country (important for country specific diseases)
• For family members that have died, find out what age they died and from what.
• Knowing what your family member’s diet, weight, and exercise regimen can also be interesting to correlate with genetic diseases.
• What each family member does for work and any job hazards are important to note as well.
• Addictions such as smoking, drinking, and drugs can be helpful.

With this information, you can make inferences about your own health and see how you can make better choices to protect yourself from disease and illness.

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I was reading a short article about how athletes are getting taller and heavier. One of the suggestions given for this is because athletes usually end up marrying other athletes. This got me thinking, since people usually marry those who have similar interests, individuals who have specialized skills, such as athleticism and art, will ultimately breed improved athletes or artists.

This all got me thinking about the flip side of things. What about criminals? Many criminals seek out other criminals - it makes sense. So what happens when they procreate? Do they make better criminals? As I have written in previous posts, criminals have a gene that makes them apt to be deviant. Therefore, my assumption is that the offsprings of criminals wouldn’t actually be better criminals but just a higher chance of them engaging in deviant behavior.

Of course, when we discuss athletes becoming bigger and better, it’s a physical component related to genes rather than just behavior. The perception may be that criminals also get bigger and better but it may be that environment makes them that way. Environmental influences from parents may make better athletes but they must also have the physical capacity to achieve.

Let’s talk about it - what do you think?

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A recent article, Genetic Link to Ovarian Cancer Found, reports that researchers from the Cancer Research UK Genetic Epidemiology Unit found that women with ovarian cancer carry an altered genetic code on chromosome nine. Scientists found that women had a 40 percent higher risk of developing this type of cancer when they have both copies of the DNA variation. The risk of having both copies is about 14 in 1000. The development of ovarian cancer for women with only one copy of the DNA variation is 20 percent.

What does this mean to you? It means that if your mom, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, sister or other female ancestors suffer(ed) from ovarian cancer, you have a pretty good chance of having the DNA variation. The only way to find out if you have both DNA variation copies, which gives you the greatest risk for the cancer, is to get a genetic test. Since scientists now know where the gene is that carries this DNA code for ovarian cancer, it’s easier to test and identify it.

If you do end up having both of the copies, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will get it. Remember, there is a 40 percent chance…so less than half of a chance. However, it’s important to get checked regularly so if you do start to develop it, you have the best chance of fighting it by catching it early.

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If you have a genetic disorder or disease, you may be faced with the difficult decision of whether or not you should have a child. You would love to have your very own baby, but you would hate for him or her to follow the same fate.

Considerations When Making Your Decision

When making your decision, consider the following information:

• Your child may not develop the same genetic disorder/disease that you have. Just because he or she may inherit your mutated gene, it doesn’t mean the child is destined to have it.
• Knowing that there is a possibility means that you can take precautions against the disease/disorder to possibly ward it off or at least treat it early so it’s not as severe.
• Prenatal genetic testing is available for some disorders that will be able to tell you whether or not the child has inherited it. Then you can take steps right from birth to help your baby stay healthy.
• Don’t forget that it takes two to have a baby. While you may have the gene for a disorder, the baby’s other parent may not, which means that the chances are about half that he or she will end up with the same problems as you.

The decision to have a baby isn’t easy when you fear a genetic disorder. However, consider the real chances of your baby inheriting it from you. To better help you decide, visit a genetics specialist, who can look at your individual situation.

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If you are thinking about getting a genetic test, it may just as beneficial to you as it is to your family. The knowledge of being susceptible to a particular disease can help other blood relatives take precautions in relation to the disease as well.

It’s important to know that just because you have the genetic marker for a disease, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will get it. However, if you don’t get it, it also doesn’t mean that your blood relative won’t either. This is why, even though it’s beneficial to share the results of your genetic test with your family, it’s also important for them to get their own genetic test.

How to Talk to Your Family about Your Genetic Test

If someone in your family is suffering from a particular disease or has recently died from it, it’s a good time to approach family members with information about the disease and your genetic testing results. Simply share your concern you have for yourself and encourage them to also get a genetic test.

Many people think that it won’t ever happen to them, and the truth is that if a family member has a disease, they are at a much higher risk of developing it as well. This risk can be reduced in some diseases, however, with some precautions, which is why it’s important to know.

After sharing your genetic testing results with your family, you can then receive and give support to them. You can all discuss ways you can all deal with this knowledge and encourage them to make lifestyle changes or seek medical care.

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High blood pressure is a common disease among many people, not just African Americans. While healthy eating, exercise and leading a low stress life can help control your blood pressure, sometimes, you may need medication. Usually, individuals who have hypertension (a chronic form of high blood pressure) inherited it from their family, making it a family genetic disease. Researchers have been studying high blood pressure in African Americans because of this uncontrollable family genetic component.

In an article, Researchers Uncover Genetic Variants Linked To Blood Pressure in African-Americans, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found gene variants that contribute to the development of high blood pressure in African Americans. They found that these genes are found in the area of where protein codes are located that influence blood pressure. Interestingly enough, the variants in the genes are prevalent more in high systolic blood pressure rather than diastolic blood pressure or both systolic and diastolic.

What does this new research mean for African Americans? Scientists will be able to develop new treatments for individuals suffering from hypertension, especially those with high systolic blood pressure. With genetic testing, African Americans and other individuals may also be able to prevent the disease before it becomes threatening.

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A miscarriage is devastating. Multiple miscarriages, with no known reason, are even more traumatic. Human genetics research has started to find roots of pregnancy loss that will help scientists uncover the mystery of why some women have a difficult time carrying a child.

Scientists at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found a human genetics link to pregnancy loss and infertility. Aneuploidy which is an abnormal number of chromosomes usually causes birth defects such as Down Syndrome but researchers have found that this may also affect a mother’s capability of conceiving and carrying to term. If a mother’s egg has a gene mutation on Bub1, she has an increased risk of pregnancy loss. Usually, a disorder occurs when someone has both copies of a gene on a chromosome, but in this case, a woman only needs one single mutation to affect her fertility. Scientists further realized that a mother’s age increases the risk of these chromosomal effects.

With this new discovery, researchers can now look for more clues into pregnancy loss and other infertility problems. With more information, scientists can possible come up with treatments that can finally help women who desperately want to have their very own baby.

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Do you have an attached or unattached earlobe?

Sit down with a relative and see if you each of you inherited some of these genetic traits!

• Earlobes

Do you have an attached earlobe or an unattached earlobe? An attached earlobe is recessive while the unattached is dominant.

• Widow’s Peak

Do you have that hairline that comes down to a point in the middle of your forehead? The genetic trait of Widow’s Peak is dominant while not having one is recessive.

• Dimples

Do you have dimples on each side of your mouth? Dimples are dominant and no dimples are recessive.

• Straight vs. curved thumb

Hold your hand out with your thumb down making an ‘L’ - does your thumb curve down or is it straight?  If it’s curved you inherited a recessive trait and if it’s straight, you inherited the dominant trait.

• Second toe

Many people say that having a longer second toe means you have a high sex drive. While that may or may not be true, having a longer second toe does mean you have a dominant genetic trait.

• Tongue curl

Try to curl your tongue like a hot dog bun. Can you do it? If you can, you inherited a dominant genetic trait for tongue curling.

• Mid-digital hair

Look at your fingers, do you have hair on the middle joint? This is a dominant trait!

• Hand clasp

Clasp your hands together right now without think about it - is your right or left thumb covering your other thumb? If it’s your left one - you possess the dominant trait!

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For some diseases, it’s not only one gene mutation that is responsible for the development of a disease but it’s a combination of mutations. This is what a recent study found in some cases of brain cancer.

In a recent article on ABCNews.com, it’s reported that Dr. Marjus Bredel of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, identified a network of gene mutations in brain cancer patients. Two hundred tumors were analyzed and these mutations were found on 10 chromosomes. This new research explains why some treatments are not effective for some brain cancer sufferers. Scientists can now focus on developing a treatment that targets multiple gene mutations in these locations.

Due to this new advancement, it’s interesting to think how people inherit the combination of genes responsible for brain cancer and if the multiple mutations have anything to do with level of risk. As we know of genetics, having gene mutations does not necessarily mean you will suffer from a disease. However, when you have a group or network of genes, does it increase your chance, more so if there was only one mutation? My assumption is no and that environment still plays a role as well as chance. However, I wonder if there is any research on the risk with multiple mutations. If you know, please leave a comment!

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July is National Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HH) Awareness Month. The reason why there is an awareness month for this genetic disorder is that many people unknowingly suffer from it, which causes them much pain and grief. Read to find out if you may be suffering from HH.

HH is a blood disorder in which the body stores too much iron in the liver, heart, pancreas, skin and gonads. This accumulation of iron can cause someone to suffer from one or many of the following symptoms:

• Chronic fatigue
• Muscle aches and joint pain
• Depression
• Memory problems
• Swelling of the stomach or bloating
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Disorientation
• Bronze or grayish pigmentation of the skin
• Impotence
• Loss of hair
• Heart problems
• Enlarged liver
• Diabetes
• Premature menopause

The misdiagnosis of HH can lead someone to damaged organs, which is why it is extremely important that people become aware of the disorder.

Facts about Hereditary Hemochromatosis

• Men suffer from HH five times more than women
• Women are diagnosed earlier than men usually
• Onset of symptoms happen between ages 40 and 60 but some people do show signs at age 20
• Disease effects 1 in every 200 people
• Disorder is due to the HFE gene mutation - 1 out of 8 to 10 people carry this gene mutation

Diagnosis of Hereditary Hemochromatosis

If you suffer from the symptoms above and believe you may be an HH sufferer, ask your doctor for a blood test. If you believe there is a family history of the disorder, you can request a genetic test to see if you carry the mutated genes. Remember, just because you have the genes, don’t mean you are guaranteed to suffer from it. Having the genes just increases your risk of suffering from it later in life.

Treatment for HH

There isn’t a cure for this disorder but you can easily manage it by having your blood drawn. Removing blood helps lower your iron levels to normal. Once your iron levels are normal, you can expect to get your blood drawn every two to six months for the rest of your life.

Resources:

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