Answer to Question #109221 in Biochemistry for kylie

Question

Describe two diseases related to perturbation of protein conformation and two diseases related to haemoglobin.

Answer 1

1.

(i) Parkinson's disease- A disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement, often including tremors.

Nerve cell damage in the brain causes dopamine levels to drop, leading to the symptoms of Parkinson's.

(ii) Alzheimer disease - A progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions.

Brain cell connections and the cells themselves degenerate and die, eventually destroying memory and other important mental functions.

2.

(i) Sickle cell anemia - Sickle cell anemia is one of the most frequently occurring genetic disorders that affect the red blood cells. Sickle cell anemia mostly affects people of African descent but the disease can also affect people of Hispanic, Arabic, Indian or Mediterranean descent. 

(ii) Hemoglobin SC disease: occurs when an abnormal hemoglobin S gene is inherited from one parent and a hemoglobin C gene is inherited from the other parent.