4/23/2018 0 Comments A Few Facts About GeneticsAs we celebrate DNA Day 2018 tomorrow, we thought we would provide a few quick facts that you might want to share with your patients. (Click here to read our Guide to DNA DAY!) Genetic disorders, diseases caused in whole or in part by a change in the DNA sequence away from the normal sequence, affect over 30 million people in the United States alone. That is 10% of the population! A few more interesting facts:
(For additional facts on DNA, please click here.) We all know that genetic diseases don't make an exception for the eye, but they might be more common than you think. According to the Cleveland Clinic, "More than 60 percent of cases of blindness among infants are caused by inherited eye diseases such as congenital (present at birth) cataracts, congenital glaucoma, retinal degeneration, optic atrophy and eye malformations. Up to 40% of patients with certain types of strabismus (ocular misalignment) have a family history of the disease and efforts are currently underway to identify the responsible genes. In adults, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration are two of the leading causes of blindness, and both appear to be inherited in a large portion of cases. Researchers have mapped several genes for glaucoma and are starting to identify genes involved in macular degeneration. They also are making very significant progress in identifying the genes that cause retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease of the retina that causes night blindness and gradual vision loss." (Click here to read the full article.) We are excited to see what developments take place in the world of genetics throughout the remainder of 2018. Happy DNA Day! P.S. Here are two more sites with great information! https://www.genome.gov/27570876/15-for-15-celebration/ https://geneed.nlm.nih.gov/topic_subtopic.php?tid=52&sid=170
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AuthorThe staff and doctors at VisionAmerica are committed to providing relevant information for you, your patients and your practice. We hope you find the information in our blog post helpful. Archives
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