Genetic Diseases & Syndromes Flashcards
Down syndrome
- Most common chromosomal abnormality in live births
- Increased incidence w/ advancing maternal age
- Age 35 1:400
- Age 45 1:35
Down syndrome prenatal testing
- Quad screen
- Nuchal translucency
Cause of Down syndrome
- Gamete has 2 copies of chromosome 21
- Trisomy 21 is cause of 95%
- Roberstonian translocation = 4%
Down syndrome prevalance
1:500 pregnancies
Down syndrome characteristics
- Intellectual disability
- Characteristic facial appearance
- 40% cardiac defects
- 75% hearing loss
- > 50% visual problems
- 7% have GI defects
- Increased social skills
- 1/2 develop Alzheimer disease
Edwards Syndrome
- Trisomy 18
- 2nd most common autosomal trisomy
- IUGR
- Many die before birth or in first month
- Increased risk w/ advanced maternal age
Edwards syndrome characteristics
- Kidney, heart, GI defects
- Developmental delay
- Club foot (Rocker bottom feet)
- Low set ears, small jaw
Edwards syndrome prevalence
1: 5000 live born infants
- Highly lethal in-utero (85% lost btwn 10 wks gestation & term)
- 50% die in 1st week of life
- 2% have 1 year survival
Patau syndrome
- Trisomy 13
- Increased risk w/ advanced maternal age
Patau syndrome prevalence
1: 16000 live births
- Many die within 1st days or weeks of life
Patau syndrome characteristics
- Severe intellectual disability
- Cleft lip or palate
- Seizures
- Small jaw
- Polydactyly
- Heart, brain/spinal defects
Patau syndrome etiology
- Most cases = 3 copies of chromosome 13
- Some due to Robertsonian translocation involving chromosome 13 & 14
Cri-du-chat syndrome
- Deletion of part of short arm of chromosome 5
- Partial monosomy (only a portion of a chromosome has 1 copy instead of 2)
Cri-du-chat etiology
- Most cases = spontaneously
Cri-du-chat characteristics
- Cat like cry due to abnormal larynx
- Intellectual disability
- Wide set eyes, low ears
Cri-du-chat prevalence & how is it detected?
1: 50,000 births
- Detected in utero w/ CVS
Klinefelter’s syndrome
- Extra X chromosome, 47XXY
- Occurs during gametogenesis
- Accounts for 1st trimester losses
- Most common sex chromosome aneuploidy in males
Klinefelter’s characteristics
- Affects male physical & cognitive development
- Physical traits become more apparent after puberty
- Hypogonadism, infertility
- Gynecomastia, reduced hair
Turner syndrome
- 45X
- Affects development in females
- Monosomy
Turner syndrome characteristics
- Gonadal dysgenesis (non-functional ovaries)
- Short stature
- Broad chest
- Webbed neck
- Amenorrhea
- Infertility
- Cardiovascular defects
Huntington’s disease
- Neurodegenerative disease (progressive brain disorder)
- Adult onset: latent for 3-5 decades, then manifests as progressive neuronal dysfunction
Huntington’s disease characteristics
- Uncontrolled movements
- Emotional problems
- Loss of thinking ability
- Changes in personality
- Involuntary jerking movements: chorea
Early signs of Huntington’s
- Depression
- Irritability
- Poor coordination
- Trouble learning
Huntington’s etiology
- HD gene on chromosome 4 that encodes for huntington
- Autosomal dominant
- Average time from sx onset to death = 15 yrs
Alzheimers syndrome
- Neurodegenerative disease
- Most common form of dementia in elderly
- Death usually occurs within 10 yrs of dx
Causes of dementia
- 65% Alzheimers
- 35% vascular
Alzheimers population
Begins after age 60 (risk increases w/ age)
Alzheimers pathophysiology
- Loss of cholinergic neurons in brain
- Formation of plaques/tangles
- Atrophy of brain
- Resultant effect - blocked communication
Alzheimers mode of inheritance
Several gene mutations cause predisposition
- 2 forms of genes have been identified: familial (early onset); sporadic (late onset)
Alzheimers clinical manifestations
- Progressive mental deterioration (memory loss, confusion, disorientation)
Familial Alzheimers
- Many members of multiple generations affected
- Sx start before age 65
- Mutations on chromosomes 1, 14, or 21 (forms “sticky” protein that forms clumps in brain)
- Rare, <5%
- Autosomal dominant
Sporadic Alzheimers
- Develops after 65
- Accounts for most cases of AD
- One gene increases risk: Chromosome 19 apolipoprotein E (APOE)
Definitive dx of sporadic Alzheimers
Autopsy- plaques, tangles
Risk factors of breast/ovarian cancer
- Gender
- Age
- Family hx