All you need to know about Chromosomal Aberration/Disorder.

They are caused by errors in the number of chromosomes or errors in the structure of chromosomes during cell division. (www.biology reference.com).

You may be wondering what a chromosome is?  Well, chromosome is a threadlike structure of nucleic acids and protein found in the nucleus of most living cells, carrying genetic information intheformof genes (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com).

A normal human cell normally contains 23 pairs of chromosomes for a total of 46. However, 22 of this pairs look the same in both male and females (https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov). Females have two copies of X chromosomal (X, X) while males have one X and one Y chromosome.

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Diseases caused by chromosomal aberration/disorder

There are certain diseases caused by these chromosome disorder and they are;

This occurs, when there is an extra chromosome in the normal chromosomal settings of normal human beings making it a total 47 instead of the normal 46.Individuals with this disorder have a face with moon shaped head, short neck, short height, short fingers, small ears which may be folded at the top, a tongue that sticks out of the mouth, they are also sometimes, mutually retarded with low IQ level.

Who is at risk of giving birth to a person with the chromosomal disorder?

All age group capable of reproduction are at risk of this, but however, research has shown that the risk of chromosomal abnormality increase with maternal age. That is, the chances of having a child affected by Down syndrome increases from about 1 in 1,250 for a woman who conceives at age 25 and 1, in100 for a woman who conceives at age 40.

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Does chromosomal disorder have a cure?

No cures exist for chromosomal disorders. Buttreatmentsareavailabletocorrectsomeoftheconditions that result from them. i.e. about half of babies born with Down syndrome have a heart defect and about 10% are born with intestinal malformations that require surgery. All these can be treated

However, the chromosomal disorder can be discovered before the birth of babies! How?

It can be discovered through a process, known as Amniocentesis. Amniocentesis is a process in which amniotic fluid is sampled using a hollow needle inserted into the uterus to screen for abnormalities in the developing fetus (https://en.m.wikipedia.org).

Finally, these disorders are not inherited, as they are just genetic errors that occur during the reproductive process. These disorders are caused by mutations that affect a particular/specific chromosome. But it is, however, unclear, what causes these mutations to occur.

Written by Funmi Akintade.

I am Funmi Akintade, a freelance writer and a blogger. You can reach me at funmiakins40@gmail.com , instagram at fumeeakins, facebook at funmiakintade.