Answer:
Genetics has a role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease
, ALS and Alzheimer's disease.
Explanation:
Neurodegenerative diseases are disorders caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons (degeneration) in the peripheral nervous system or the central nervous system. The neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease
, ALS and Alzheimer's disease are caused by various genetic and environmental factors.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
is a neurodegenerative disease in which the motor neurons degenerate and the muscles begin to waste away as they no longer receive signals from the brain. It is characterized by stiff muscles, muscle twitching, progressive muscle weakness from muscle wasting where most patients are unable to walk or use their arms and eventually develop difficulty in speaking, swallowing and breathing. The genetic factors related to ALS include altered RNA metabolism, presence of protein aggregates in motor neurons due to gene mutations etc.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) begins with short term memory loss and is characterized behaviorally by progressive decline in cognitive function resulting in dementia. The characteristics of this disease includes buildup of misfolded tau protein, associated neurofibrillary tangles, and amyloid-beta senile plaques in the brain. Several genetic factors contributing to AD include mutations to the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilins 1 and 2 genes.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative disorder that mainly affects the motor system and the symptoms are shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, difficulty with walking and dementia. Genetic factors include mutations to the alpha-synuclein gene.
