Genetic Disorders

There are many types of genetic disorders. Mendelian disorders are a group of disorders that are inherited either as an autosomal (through one of the 44 chromosomes, excluding the X or Y chromosome) or X-linked (through the X chromosome) defect in a dominant or recessive pattern. Although most of them are commonly associated with inherited defects, many of them can involve spontaneous or de novo alterations in an individuals genetic material. There are also genetic disorders that have an unknown etiology and the mechanisms for how a disease develops have not been clearly elucidated. Some genetic disorders can be induced by environmental factors and are collectively called multifactorial disorders. Mitochondrial disorders involve disorders in the mitochondrial genome and are inherited only from the mother. The mitochondria are tiny compartments found in almost every cell and has a distinct genome from the DNA found in the nucleus and is involved primarily in producing energy for all the tissues of the body. Finally, polygenic disorders mean that many genes act together to produce a genetic disease.