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Inherited Diseases – Thalassemia

When you get pregnant, especially for the first time, it is easy to get confused by the vast amount of information that comes your way. From your doctors to your friends and family, everyone has something to tell you. The early discussions that many OBGYNs and midwives have with their newly pregnant patients often contain information regarding genetic testing. There are different types of tests and the reasons for suggesting each test are different. Some specific tests many be suggested based upon your family history and ethnic heritage. Today, I learned from my mother that a fairly distant relative of … Continue reading →

Thalassemia – Is It In Your Family Tree?

By now, you are probably aware of the connection between genetics and genealogy. Some of the health-related traits that tend to run in families are pretty serious stuff and genetic testing is frequently offered to expectant parents. The tests are strongly recommended for certain expectant parents whose ancestry places them at a high risk for passing serious genetic conditions on to their children. One such condition is the beta-thalassemia genetic trait. Thalassemia is also known as Cooley’s Anemia or Mediterranean Anemia, and it affects Greeks, Italians, Asians, and Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews. People that carry the beta-thalassemia genetic trait are … Continue reading →

What is Thalassemia?

Thalassemia is a blood disorder that causes the body to produce less hemoglobin — the protein that helps your red blood cells carry oxygen through the body. If your hemoglobin levels are low, you may develop anemia. What causes thalassemia? It is an inherited disorder — one that comes from a defective gene in both parents. There are two genes that produce beta-globin and four genes that produce hemoglobin. A malfunction in these genes can lead to thalassemia. There are two main types of thalassemia: alpha thalassemia and beta thalassemia. Beta is the most common form of the disease, and … Continue reading →

Dinner Table Conversations That Could Save Your Life

This Thanksgiving, there are probably going to be many different conversations going on at the dinner table. Of course, genealogists will be hoping for some interesting discussions related to family history, perhaps even acquiring some new information that could lead to breakthroughs in their research. In some families, there is also likely to be talk of death or illness. As terrible as this sounds, these discussions could prove helpful to the people that are involved in the discussion because they help to fill in the blanks of a family medical history. A family medical history is a type of record … Continue reading →

What is Genetic Genealogy?

During a search on the Internet for genealogy information I came across the term “genetic genealogy.” I did not know what it meant, and I did not look into it at the time because it sounded like it could be rather scientific, and I was not in a scientific mood. However, today, I decided that I would learn what genetic genealogy is all about. Genetic genealogy combines traditional genealogy with genetic testing to determine the level of genetic relationship between individuals. In other words, how similar is your genetic makeup to that of your ancestors? Genetic genealogy is a relatively … Continue reading →