Birth Defect: Achondroplasia
Sarah Smyth
A genetic disease is a mutation caused by the absence of a gene or by products of a defective gene. ("Genetic Disease") ("What Are Genetic Disorders?")
I chose to research Achondroplasia, because I thought that it was interesting. I’ve never really heard of this disease before, and I also wanted to do something different than the other kids. Once I realized that it was a form of dwarfism, I really wanted to look more into it, because I knew that there were many forms of dwarfism, and I wanted to see what this specific type does.
Achondroplasia, by definition, means a disorder of cartilage formation in the fetus, leading to a type of dwarfism. (Miller and Brackman Keane 8)
This genetic condition affects one in every 15,000, or on more rare occasions, it can affect one in 40,000 live births. Most of the time, people who have Achondroplasia live normal life spans, but some people can have severe bone problems that can lead to a death earlier than expected. Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder that is caused by a mutation in the FGFR 3 gene, which is responsible for making a protein called fibroblast growth factor receptor 3, and is the only gene known to be linked with Achondroplasia. The FGFR3 gene is also involved in converting cartilage to bone. Cartilage, which makes up the human skeleton at the early stages in life, is tough but flexible. During ossification, the process that converts cartilage into bone, the body has trouble converting certain cartilage into bones. This usually happens in the bigger, longer bones of the body, such as the long bones of the arms and legs. There is another genetic disorder similar to this, called Hypochondroplasia, but Achondroplasia has features th...
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...ve Achondroplasia. Clinical laboratories have available testing for the FGFR3 gene. When a child is diagnosed with Achondroplasia, parents should look for changes in bowel or bladder function, muscle weakness, and asymmetrical reflexes or respiratory problems. Many babies with Achondroplasia have troubles with repeating ear infections. Some may need ear tubes, which are placed into the ear to allow air in the middle ear to help lower the chances of ear infections. Without these tubes, the baby could lose its hearing. The spinal cord can also get compressed, making the upper airway obstructed, and increasing the risk of death for the baby. People with Achondroplasia also have breathing problems, during this breathing either stops or slows down for short amounts of time. ("GeneFacts")
Achondroplasia is a birth defect that sadly, comes with no specific treatment.
Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva also known as FOP is a one of the rarest, most disabling genetic bone conditions known to medicine. FOP causes muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues to turn in to bone. Movement becomes limited in the affected areas of the body. People with FOP typically have malformed toes at birth, meaning the big toe is typically shorter than normal and abnormally turned outward in a position called a valgus deviation. Symptoms of FOP start to show up in early childhood. Most people with FOP develop painful tumor-like swellings also known as fibrous nodules. The fibrous nodules are visible on the neck, shoulders, and back.
In order to study the gene mutation that is supposed to cause Paget’s Bone Disease researchers had to have viable candidates to host the gene mutation. They found the best candidate to host the gene mutation in mice so they implanted the gene mutation in embryos of mice offspring. The researchers hypothesized that p62P394L is sufficient to induce PDB, especially since the p62 gene is responsible for encoding 62 kDa protein which functions in signaling osteoclast precursors. Results were found by fixing the first through fifth lumbar vertebra of four, eight, and twelve month old homozygote, heterozygote and WT littermates in 10% buffered formalin for 24- 48 hours. The first through fourth vertebra were then completely decalcified while the fifth was not. Longitudinal sections of both decalcified and undecalcified vertebra were cut, mounted on glass slides and stained to analyze. The mice with p62P394L had histologically normal bones, indicating that p62 mutation is not enough to induce Paget’s disease of the bone in vivo, there are additional factors necessary. Knowing osteitis deformas is due to hyper responsive multinucleated osteoclasts, it seemed a sensible suggestion. However, there are many other variables that should be factored when considering possible causes for osteoclast hyperformation. If p62P349L is present, doesn’t necessarily mean a person will get PDB, though an environmental factor such as measles could easily open up transduction pathways that could eventually lead to pagetic bone lesions. We find this study to be a stepping stone for future researchers to use in order to actually identify what causes Paget’s bone disease. (Hiruma, Kurihara, Subler, Zhou, Boykin, Zhang, Ishizuka, Dempster, Roodman & Wi...
ACHONDROPLASIA is known as being undersized, or less than 50in. in height. Having short limbs, a normal sized trunk, large head with a depressed nasal bridge and small face. This is a result of a disease in the thyroid gland. It can also be caused by Down syndrome or absorption, a cartilaginous tissue during the fetal stage. Hypochondroplasia, a mild form of dwarfism. Spinal tuberculosis and the deficiency of the pituitary gland secretions. Treatment with thyroxin or thyroid extract early in childhood results in normal growth and development. Somatrophin, also known as the human growth hormone is secreted by the anterior pituitary. Respiratory problems start to occur in infants. Symptoms of problems include snoring and sleeping with neck in a hyperextended condition. The limbs have rhizometic shortening. The legs are straight in infantry but when a child. He begins walking they develop a knock-knee position. When the child continues to walk legs begin to have a bowed-leg look. Occasionally, these curvatures are fixed. As the child continues to walk the kyphosis disappears and the back assumes a lordotic posture. If a delay in child’s walking occurs, the spine should be monitored closely for signs of gibbous formation. In infancy, hypercephalus can occur. Infants head circumference should be monitored close . Monthly checks of head circumference must be monitored. Radiologic studies are indicated if head circumference raises to disproportionately, or if symptoms of hydrocephalus. Child’s pediatrician should have a copy of head circumference curves for children with achondroplasia. Radiologic procedures for dwarfism include head ultrasound, C-T scan, or MRI of the head. If intervention is necessary, a ventriculoperitoneal shunt is placed relieving the pressure. Infants should also be monitored for foramen magnum compression. It is the opening at the base of the skull in which the brain stem and cervical spinal cord exit. When you have achondroplasia the foramen magnum is compressing the brain stem and spinal cord. Symptoms of narrowing include apnea the cessation of breathing and cervical myleopathy. C-T scans and MRI scans are done to examine the size of the infectious foramen magnum. A neurosurgical procedure called a foramen magnum decompression is executed to alarge foramen and alleviate further symptoms. Adolescents are at risk of getting lumbosacral spinal stenosis. The lumber spinal cord or nerve roots become compressed producing nerosurgical symptoms. Initial symptoms including weakness, tingling, and pain of the legs. Pain usually alleviated by assuming a squatting position.
The head is unable to grow normally, which can lead to a misshapen skull, widely spaced eyes, and a bulging forehead. At birth, the bones of the skull are not joined together; they close up as the child grows. In Jackson-Weiss syndrome, the skull bones join together too early. This is called "craniosynostosis." Foot abnormalities are the most consistent characteristic, as not all individuals with Jackson-Weiss syndrome have abnormal skull or facial features. The big toes are enlarged and bend away from the other toes. They have very different ways off forming in the feet including the big toes are short and wide, the big toes also bend away from other toes, and the bones of some toes may be fused together which they call “syndactyly” or abnormally
Throughout this semester, I have gained a abundance of information on genetics that I never knew, but reading the book "Mendel 's Dwarf" did make it a little bit more difficult for me to understand genetics. After looking back at my notes I remembered early in the semester our professor discussing the condition that Dr. Benedict Lambert suffers from which is Achondroplasia(dwarfism). Achondroplasia is condition of short limbs, usually in arms and legs, the torso and head size is majority of the time normal. Simon Mawer describe Dr. Lambert body as "His body is not normal, his is not normal, his limbs are not normal. He possesses a massive forehead and blunt, puglike features. His nose is stove in at the bridge, his mouth and jaw protrude. His
Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), also called fragile bone ailment or Lobstein disorder, is an inherent bone issue portrayed by weak bones that are inclined to break effortlessly with practically zero cause. A arrangement of various sorts of OI is regularly used to depict how seriously a man with OI is affected.OI is brought on by hereditary deformities that influence the body's capacity to make solid bones. In predominant established OI, a man has too little sort I collagen or a low quality of sort I collagen because of a transformation in one of the sort I collagen qualities which makes the bones
The fetus in utero may show signs of slow growth and organs may not develop correctly. After birth there can be physical defects evidenced by a smooth skin surface between upper lip and nose, the nose may be upturned, wide set eyes and an extremely thin upper lip. The head may be small in circumference and brain size, deformities of the joints, vision and hearing problems, heart defects and problems with bones and kidneys. There may be problems with the central nervous system and brain, including poor memory and judgement, learning disorders, delayed development, poor coordination and/or balance and hyperactivity or jitteriness, and mood swings. Children born with FAS may have difficulty is school, have poor social skills, have trouble adapting to change, lack impulse control, unable to stay on task and find it hard to plan or work towards a goal. The severity and negative effects range from subtle to serious, they are always
A genetic disorder is a sickness caused by one or many abnormalities or absentees in the genes or chromosomes. One interesting genetic disorder such as cancer, are found genetic but, can also be caused and affected by many by environmental factors such as being exposed to asbestos which may increase the risk of lung cancer and many other cancers. While on the other hand most disorders like Williams Syndrome are genetic and are primarily rare and only affect a limited amount of people about one in every several thousand. Because it is a genetic disorder that is estimated between 1 in 10,000 people worldwide, primarily caused by a micro-deletion on the seventh chromosome is what indicates the disorder being Williams Syndrome.
Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder in which there is a growth hormone deficiency, or there is a genetic mutation in either the father’s sperm or mother’s egg. Mayo Clinic, March 20, 2014. Achondroplasia was the first discovered in ancient Egyptian records. People with achondroplasia are considered people with supernatural powers. Many people call dwarfs midgets, but to them, it is very disrespectful because midget literally means little person.
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), also known as brittle bone disease, is a rare genetic disorder with the main characteristic being that the bones break very easily, usually for no apparent reason. The major cause of osteogenesis imperfecta is a mutation in the genes that produce collagen. Collagen is the main protein that works toward the production of connective tissue. Individuals with this disorder will produce less collagen than needed, which causes the bone development to be endangered. This could result in bone deformities. There are four types of osteogenesis imperfecta, and in all four types you will see bone fragility with multiple fractures and bone deformities.
Genetic diseases are diseases passed down through heredity and genes. Tourette Syndrome is one of the more common genetic diseases. Although it is made fun of in television and movies, Tourette Syndrome is a very serious disorder.
The skeleton helps to support, move and protect the human body and its health is necessary for normal functioning. Because of the skeleton’s importance, diseases of the skeletal system can be debilitating. For example, a group of genetic disorders called osteogenesis imperfecta affects about 50 000 people in the United States alone Ref. The body of a person with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), or ‘brittle bone disease’ cannot properly form bones due to a mutation preventing them from producing a healthy amount of collagen, causing bones to fracture easily. This paper provides an overview of osteogenesis imperfecta’s symptoms, genetic causes, diagnosis, and its development. treatment and effect on a patient’s life.
Girls with this syndrome may have many middle ear infections during childhood; if not treated, these chronic infections could cause hearing loss. Up to the age of about 2 years, growth in height is approximately normal, but then it lags behind that of other girls. Greatly reduced growth in height of a female child should lead to a chromosome test if no diagnosis has already been made. Early diagnosis is very importance in order to be able to give enough correct information to the parents, and gradually to the child herself, so that she has the best possibilities for development. Early diagnosis is also important in case surgical treatment of the congenital heart defect (seen in about 20 per cent of cases) is indicated.
There are many different types of dwarfism that researchers have confirmed today, but there still are many genes for dwarfism that remain unidentified.The most common of these known causes is achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder.The Little People Online website states that most dwarfs who suffer from achondroplasia are born to “average-size” parents, and that their birth rate is somewhere between onein26,000-40,000www.lpaonline.org).The main characteristics of this form of dwarfism are normal trunk size with short appendages, irregularly large heads wi...