disease inheritance

posted on December 1, 2001 - 12:52pm
Many neuromuscular diseases are genetic diseases, meaning they're caused by defective genes, and can be passed from one generation to the next. Understanding the facts about a genetic disease is important for family planning and for peace of mind. But it's a challenging task, made more difficult by common misconceptions about genetic diseases.
posted on February 1, 2001 - 11:54am
One area that causes frequent misunderstanding is the phenomenon of germ line mosaicism. Here's a typical question (actually a composite of several queries to "Ask the Experts"): Five years ago, I gave birth to a child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). At that time, they tested my blood cell DNA and said I didn't have the deletion in my dystrophin genes that causes DMD. My son, Danny,...