Thomas discovered a devastating piece of family historywhen he learned that his brother had been diagnosed withHuntington disease (HD) at age 49. This dominantly inheritedautosomal condition usually begins around age 45 with progressivedementia, muscular rigidity, and seizures and ultimatelyleads to death when affected individuals are in their early 60s. Therecurrently is no effective treatment or cure for this genetic disorder.Thomas, now 38, wonders what the chances are that he also hasinherited the mutant allele for HD, leading him to discuss with hiswife whether they should seek genetic counseling and whether heshould undergo genetic testing. They have two teenage children, aboy and a girl. Question : If you were in Thomas’s position, would you want to be testedand possibly learn that you were almost certain to develop thedisorder sometime in the next 5–10 years?

Human Anatomy & Physiology (11th Edition)
11th Edition
ISBN:9780134580999
Author:Elaine N. Marieb, Katja N. Hoehn
Publisher:Elaine N. Marieb, Katja N. Hoehn
Chapter1: The Human Body: An Orientation
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1RQ: The correct sequence of levels forming the structural hierarchy is A. (a) organ, organ system,...
icon
Related questions
Question

Thomas discovered a devastating piece of family history
when he learned that his brother had been diagnosed with
Huntington disease (HD) at age 49. This dominantly inherited
autosomal condition usually begins around age 45 with progressive
dementia, muscular rigidity, and seizures and ultimately
leads to death when affected individuals are in their early 60s. There
currently is no effective treatment or cure for this genetic disorder.
Thomas, now 38, wonders what the chances are that he also has
inherited the mutant allele for HD, leading him to discuss with his
wife whether they should seek genetic counseling and whether he
should undergo genetic testing. They have two teenage children, a
boy and a girl.

Question : If you were in Thomas’s position, would you want to be tested
and possibly learn that you were almost certain to develop the
disorder sometime in the next 5–10 years?

Expert Solution
trending now

Trending now

This is a popular solution!

steps

Step by step

Solved in 2 steps

Blurred answer
Knowledge Booster
Mutation
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, biology and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.
Similar questions
Recommended textbooks for you
Human Anatomy & Physiology (11th Edition)
Human Anatomy & Physiology (11th Edition)
Biology
ISBN:
9780134580999
Author:
Elaine N. Marieb, Katja N. Hoehn
Publisher:
PEARSON
Biology 2e
Biology 2e
Biology
ISBN:
9781947172517
Author:
Matthew Douglas, Jung Choi, Mary Ann Clark
Publisher:
OpenStax
Anatomy & Physiology
Anatomy & Physiology
Biology
ISBN:
9781259398629
Author:
McKinley, Michael P., O'loughlin, Valerie Dean, Bidle, Theresa Stouter
Publisher:
Mcgraw Hill Education,
Molecular Biology of the Cell (Sixth Edition)
Molecular Biology of the Cell (Sixth Edition)
Biology
ISBN:
9780815344322
Author:
Bruce Alberts, Alexander D. Johnson, Julian Lewis, David Morgan, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, Peter Walter
Publisher:
W. W. Norton & Company
Laboratory Manual For Human Anatomy & Physiology
Laboratory Manual For Human Anatomy & Physiology
Biology
ISBN:
9781260159363
Author:
Martin, Terry R., Prentice-craver, Cynthia
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.
Inquiry Into Life (16th Edition)
Inquiry Into Life (16th Edition)
Biology
ISBN:
9781260231700
Author:
Sylvia S. Mader, Michael Windelspecht
Publisher:
McGraw Hill Education