Question

1. Name three distinguishing characteristics of chronic diseases.

2. What are autoimmune diseases? Name two of them. What is the leading hypothesis about why they disproportionately affect women?

3. What type of ethical issues may arise with testing for genetic predisposition for various chronic diseases? Do you think the benefit outweighs the risks?

Answer 1

Answer to 1st question:

Chronic diseases are the conditions when the diseases that last more than three three months. Common chronic diseases like Cardio vascular diseases,Diabetes, Cancer, chronic Obstructive pulmonary disease etc.

The most distinguished characterstics of Chronic diseases are :many risk factors, complex causes of diseases , Functional impairement of organs or disability of organs, long period of illness.

Answer to 2nd question:

Auto immune diseases are the diseases caused by the body's immune system attacks and destroys healthy body tissues by mistake. Common auto immune diseases are

Addison disease --in which Adrenal glands donot produce enough amounts of hormones like Cortisol and few times Aldosterone.

Multiple sclerosis-- a disease due to immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers the nerve fibers and cause disability of brain and spinal cord .

--usually, most infectious diseases are affect men than women but Auto immune diseases are most commonly seen in women than men due to the high prevalence is attribute to the X chromosome which has many genes are relates to immune system.

- women often tend to develop auto immune diseases at the childbearing years of their life between age 12 to 51.

-- in women have two X chromosomes which prone to development of auto immune disease. women are respond to the infection, vaccination and trauma with the increased antibody production. so the auto antibodies are developed due to infection, vaccination in women which causes them to more prone to development of Auto immune disease.

--Estrogen plays more important role in the high prevalence of auto immune disease in women.Estrogen can increases inflammation to cause many auto immune diseases like Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis, Grave's disease etc. afftect more in women than men in whom Testosterone reduce the inflammation.

Answer to 3rd question:

-Genetic screening means the tests are done to people to identify asymptomatic people at increased risk for any chronic illness. this type of screening is done to identify Down syndrome in new born babies by using mother's serum in pregnant women.

- Genetic testing means the analysis of gene status in people. it is done in both symptomatic and asymptomatic people for chronic diseases or in the presence of Genetic predisposition to develop chronic diseases like Cancer or Cardiovascular diseases.

The Ethical issues are arise during the Genetic predisposition of chronic illness are genetic, social and financial , psychological issues. the psychological issues are anxiety, guilt, insurance and employment discrimination after diagnosis of chronic diseases.

- the ethical issues like if person evluating for cancer diagnosis in biological relative and found to be genetic susceptability to cancer,then the commity should offer the counseling and follow up with proper treatment and quality of care to treat patient.

--the genetic screening is connect to the availability of intervention, diagnosis of prenatal , counseling and reproductive deciding , lifestyle changes and increases the  phenotype screenig.

--Genetic screening and testing must be voluntary not mandatory. it must be done with person's consent and no other persons are valid to sign except children, adolescent.

--The Genetic screening and testing should be done after providing detailed explanation , possible risks, alternatives, possible benefits must inform to the testing person.

- identifing and diagnise the disease condition and helps the person to get better treatment at the intial stage helps to cure. but sometimes the risks are the test results are not accurate always so better to check it for few times to confirm the diagnosis.