What Causes Genetic Disease?
In reality, there is no easy answer to this question. Genetic disease is just as complicated as any other medical condition. Put simply, though, genetic disease is caused by a combination of environmental factors and some kind of genetic abnormality. In general, there are four different types of genetic disorders: 1) single gene, 2) multifactorial, 3) chromosomal, and 4) mitochondrial. Single Gene Disorders Single gene disorders are caused by mutations to the DNA sequence in one gene. Mutations are simply changes to the genetic information. A disease-causing mutation usually disrupts the protein normally coded for in some way. It may be that the protein’s size or shape changes so dramatically that it cannot function as it is supposed to. It could be that the amount of protein made is inappropriate; too much or too little of a protein can have negative effects. At any rate, the mutation in the one gene alters its protein product enough to cause a disease. There are over 6,000 known sing
