Question

Which one of the following is not a genetic disease?
1. Night blindness
2. Albinism
3. Haemophilia
4. Colour  blindness

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Night blindness

The correct answer is Night Blindness.

• Night Blindness is not a genetic disease.
• Night blindness itself is not a condition but the result of an existing eye disorder. 
• Acute vitamin A deficiency results in night blindness.
  • Vitamin A supplements have helped women to adapt to darkness by 50% within six weeks. 
• A genetic disease or disorder is any disease caused by a problem with a person’s genes.
  • Genes are the basic unit of heredity.
  • They hold the genetic information in the form of DNA which can be translated into useful proteins to carry out life processes. 
  • These genes undergo a mutation sometimes, which changes the instructions to formulate the protein, due to which the protein does not work properly.
  • Some disorders are innate, present by birth, while others are acquired due to mutations in a particular gene.
• Hence, option1 is correct.

• There are many types of genetic diseases -
  • Single-gene inheritance diseases
  • Multifactorial genetic inheritance disorders
  • Chromosome abnormalities
  • Mitochondrial genetic inheritance disorders
•  Albinism :
  • Albinism is a rare group of genetic disorders that cause the skin, hair, or eyes to have little or no color.
  • Albinism is also associated with vision problems. 
  • Genetic mutations that affect the production of a pigment called melanin.
  • There is a cell called the melanocyte that is responsible for giving skin, hair, and eyes pigmentation.
• Haemophilia:
  • Haemophilia is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding.
  • This results in people bleeding for a longer time after an injury, easy bruising, and an increased risk of bleeding inside joints or the brain.
• Colour blindness :
  • Colour vision deficiency is caused by a genetic fault passed on to a child by their parents.
  • It occurs because some of the colour-sensitive cells in the eyes, called cones, are either missing or do not work properly.