Question 6: If your father had Huntington\'s disease and you had the opportunity

Question

Question 6:

If your father had Huntington's disease and you had the opportunity to be tested for the mutation, would you get tested? Why or why not?

It Runs in the Family When more than one individual in a family is afflicted with a disease, it suggests that the disease might be inherited. A basic method for determining the pattern of inheritance of any trait, including a disease, is to look at its occurrence in several individuals within a family, spanning as many generations as possible. Family history information is usually combined with information from medical tests, increasingly including genetic tests. From family history and medical test results, a physician, genetic counselor, or researcher can draw a pedigree. A pedigree is simply a family tree that uses a particular set of standardized symbols. Introduction to Pedigree Symbols Males are represented by squares. Females are represented by circles. Filled symbols show individuals who exhibit the trait in question. A horizontal line between two symbols represents a mating. A vertical line descends from parents to a horizontal line shared by all their offspring. A diagonal line through a symbol indicates that person is deceased. Roman numerals (I, II represent generations. Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3,...) represent the birth order of siblings. Specific combinations of numerals (like II-3) uniquely identify each individual in the pedigree. Many pedigrees do not include numerals. I. Individual II-5 in the pedigree shown toI the right is A) A male who does not exhibit the trait. B) A father C) Has three affected siblings. D) All of the above.

Explanation / Answer

1. A square symbol in the pedigree represents male individual, and an unfilled symbol represents unaffected individual. Since individual II-5 in the pedigree does not exhibits the trait (Has the square is unfilled), and he is the father of two siblings, one of which is affected. Hence option A and B are correct.

2. False, as the diseased individuals are married and had childrens too. This suggests that they are alive till the age of marriage, and the disease is not severe.

3. C) Dominant traits always appears in every generation and does not skips any generation. This pedigree also represents affected individuals in every generation. Hence the pedigree shos a dominant trait.

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