Adrenoleukodystrophy and Myelin Essay -- Biology Essays Research Paper

Adrenoleukodystrophy and Myelin Wheres the Connection? Adrenoleukodystrophy. Also known as ALD. decennium years ago many people would not be well-known(prenominal) with this extremely r be childhood disease. But now awargonness has change magnitude as a result of the 1992 MCA Universal film, Lorenzos Oil. This true romance movie shows the struggles of a family whose son is dying from this disease and their fight to demonstrate to save him and children like him. After seeing this movie myself I became actually interested in ALD and the possible ways to cure or contend it. In the last decade there has been some amazing query done in conjunction with this disease and the few others who, like it, fade as a result from the breakdown or loss of bulb in the brain. The first step in understanding adrenoleukodystrophy is to ask what it is and how it works. gibe to the fact sheet put out by the National engraft of Health in Bethesda, MD in 1997, ALD is a rare, genetic folie charac terized by the breakdown or loss of the myelin sheath border nerve cells in the brain and progressive dysfunction of the adrenal gland (1). This disorder affects fatty acid metabolism which causes the dysfunction of the adrenal glands, the unquiet system, and the testes (2). This leads to progressive neurological disability and death (3). Physical symptoms include, but are not limited to, visual loss, deafness, learning disabilities, seizures, dysarthria (poorly articulated speech), dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), strabismus (crossed eyes), fatigue, disturbance in gait and coordination, vomiting, paralysis, blindness, melanoderma, and dementia (1) (2) (4). But this disease does not compass point with merely physical changes, there are many behavioral changes which are parti... ...gs are almost never what you think they are. WWW Sources1)Adrenoleukodystrophy,http//www.ninds.nih.gov/HEALINFO/DISORDER/Adrenoleukodystrophy/adrenoleuko.html 2)Adrenoleukodystrophy, http//www.healtha nswers.com/database/ami/ reborn/001182.html3)NCBI Adrenoleukodystrophy, http//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disease/ALD.html4) ADRENOLEUKODYSTROPHY , http//www.kid-med.org/pedbase/adrenole.htm5)The Myelin Project , http//www.myelin.org/6)TMP Newsletter , http//www.myelin.org/112698pr.html7)Virtual Hospital Radiology resident Case of the Week Adrenal Leukodystrophy (ALD) , http//www.vh.org/adult/provider/radiology/RCW/012696/012696.html8) Neurodegenerative Disorders of Childhood- Dr. Greenes polarity Calls , http//www.drgreene.com/21_525.html9) Metachromatic Leukodystrophy , http//www.duke.edu/pdrh/MLD.html