Diabetes

Diabetes is a genetic disease that runs through my family.  It's a group of metabolic diseases in which the individual has high blood glucose (blood sugar), either because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body's cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both.  Patients with high blood sugar will typically experience polyuria (frequent urination), they will become increasingly thirsty(polydipsia) and hungry(polyphagia).




TREATMENT AND GENETICS:




Unlike some traits, diabetes does not seem to be inherited in a simple pattern. Yet clearly, some people are born more likely to develop diabetes than others.

Type 1 Diabetes

In most cases of type 1 diabetes, people need to inherit risk factors from both parents. Statistics show diabetes more common in whites because whites have the highest rate of type 1 diabetes.
Because most people who are at risk do not get diabetes, researchers want to find out what the environmental triggers are.
One trigger might be related to cold weather. Type 1 diabetes develops more often in winter than summer and is more common in places with cold climates.
Another trigger might be viruses. Perhaps a virus that has only mild effects on most people triggers type 1 diabetes in others.
Early diet may also play a role. Type 1 diabetes is less common in people who were breastfed and in those who first ate solid foods at later agesstands for advanced glycosylation (gly-KOH-sih-LAY-shun) end products. AGEs are produced in the body when glucose links with protein. They play a role in damaging blood vessels, which can lead to diabetes complications.X.
In many people, the development of type 1 diabetes seems to take many years. In experiments that followed relatives of people with type 1 diabetes, researchers found that most of those who later got diabetes had certain autoantibodies in their blood for years before.
(Antibodies are proteins that destroy bacteria or viruses. Autoantibodies are antibodiesproteins made by the body to protect itself from "foreign" substances such as bacteria or viruses. People get type 1 diabetes when their bodies make antibodies that destroy the body's own insulin-making beta cells.X 'gone bad,' which attack the body's own tissues.)

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes has a stronger link to family history and lineage than type 1, although it too depends on environmental factors.
Studies of twins have shown that genetics play a very strong role in the development of type 2 diabetes.
Lifestyle also influences the development of type 2 diabetes. Obesitya condition in which a greater than normal amount of fat is in the body; more severe than overweight; having a body mass index of 30 or more.X tends to run in families, and families tend to have similar eating and exercise habits.
If you have a family history of type 2 diabetes, it may be difficult to figure out whether your diabetes is due to lifestyle factors or genetic susceptibility. Most likely it is due to both. However, don’t lose heart. Studies show that it is possible to delay or prevent type 2 diabetes by exercising and losing weight.




REFERENCE:  AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION
                          www.diabetes.org

Gattaca. Good or Bad?

Good : Everyone was genetically superior to their elders. So they had good genes no addiction for alcoholism, drugs... so no one was a alcoholic or junkie among genetically engineered "valids". Higher IQ and other intelligence factors. Better health, longer life-span healthier and "better" bodies.  Individuals were a lot smarter also including invalids. The "society" had certain goals witch it tried to achieve. The government (prosuming there even was one) had a good grip of it's citizens. When a child was made and most probably genetically engineered. They usually "deleted" the bad factors. Like violent behavior any addictions and obesity (When people have too much over weight and when they get older the risk of getting your limb or other bones fractured is great. And they might have to retire EARLIER and the government usually pays the medical bill's and the retirement money so the government loses money. And the same thing with junkies alcoholics and others.) Longer life-span means that the citizen would live longer and be more effective longer so they would pay taxes for the most of their lives. And that is good for the government presuming it had taxing.






Bad : Discrimination of invalid's. Invalids were genetically weaker so they kind of slowed down the world to become a perfect genepool. Invalid's were a burton to the society. When an invalid couple would decide to have a child all invalid couples didn't have to money for genetic engineering. So the valid's are just getting better and better and because of discrimination of invalid's they have hard time to even get a proper job. So they just keep going lower and lower.

Should we be able to know our genomes?

Some genomic pioneers are sharing their entire sequences on the Internet.  Yet what our genomes reveal might return to haunt us later, and more to the point, our families.  Some of us won’t want everyone knowing our risk of cancer or Alzheimer’s disease, or worse, guessing our kids’ health risks.  Yet we’d like researchers to be able to study the data without harm coming to us.  And we need them to have access to the genomes of others.   We would like to be able to check our individual risk of cancer or Alzheimer’s disease when we choose, or trace our genetic lineages using genomic tools.  Unless many, many people share data revealing their risk of cancer or Alzheimer’s disease, and opt into ancestry databases, there will be no way to interpret ours.
For this system to work, we need to be in control of the information that results from having a personal genome sequenced. So this right should not go exclusively to the company that does the sequencing, or the website that identifies how one genome differs from another, or the academic researchers who do the research.  The company or university that does the sequencing provides a service, but it should not own or control the data about us. Genome sequencing can provide high-impact medical results, but most of the time, it will merely illuminate our genealogy and satisfy our curiosity, and give moderately interesting insights into disease risk. In the continuum of potential results, FDA has a clear role in the medical aspects, but at the other end of the continuum does not have any business blocking us from using a website to find folks we’re related to.  Teasing apart what needs to be regulated from what does not is a work in progress, and frankly, we’re optimistic it can happen.

Career Genetic Counselor

Genetic counselors are health specialists who’ve completed specialized training in medical genetics. As medical specialists, genetic counselors assist individuals who’ve been diagnosed with genetic disorders. Genetic counselors review charts detailing family history and teach patients and other medical specialists about genetic diseases. Since they possess specialized counseling skills, genetic counselors help patients and their loved ones understand potential genetic testing options and the consequences of such testing. Additionally, these specialists address ethical questions associated with genetic testing and treatment.

As members of medical teams, genetic counselors teach patients, doctors, and other medical specialists how to treat people with genetic disorders and participate in public awareness campaigns to educate the public about these disorders. Many American universities offer genetic counseling graduate programs. Students earning graduate degrees in this field are required to complete classes in medical ethics, counseling, molecular genetics, psychology, clinical genetics, and cytogenetics. Aspiring genetic counselors should enroll in an American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) accredited graduate program. Before being certified, genetic counselors must pass the ABGC’s certification examination.Genetic counselors are frequently paid base salaries and periodic bonuses. Likewise, most genetic counselors receive healthcare benefits. Average annual salaries for these specialists range anywhere from $49,195 – 64,208 annually, and with bonuses, genetic counselors earn additional income ranging between $375 - 2,250 annually.






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