Chapter 11, Problem 12STP

Summary Introduction

To write:

A hypothesis stating the reason for occurrence of Huntington’s disease.

Introduction:

Huntington’s disease is a dominant genetic disorder that is very fatal in nature. In this disease, progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain occurs. It declines a person’s mental and physical abilities at around 30-50 years of age.

Explanation of Solution

Huntington is an autosomal dominant disease that means a person need only one copy of dominant allele to get affected by this disease. In heterozygous condition, the allele can effectively express itself. If any person has allele for this disease, then this allele does not express itself until that person has children and is of age between 30 and 40 years. By this time, there is high probability that the allele has passed on the next generation already. So, due to this reason this disorder still persists in the population.