How do genetic problems occur?
Genetic problems can be on the level of the chromosome or in the genes
Chromosomal abnormalities
• Problems may be seen when there is an abnormality with the number of chromosomes or the structure of a chromosome
- For example, when there is an extra chromosome 21 (trisomy 21), this causes Down Syndrome, which can cause developmental delays and other medical conditions including epilepsy
- When chromosome 20 has an abnormal ring shape this can cause severe epilepsy
Genetic abnormalities
• When the genes (in our analogy above- words) are “misspelled” with missing or wrong base-pairs, we call the mistake in spelling a “mutation”. Mutated genes may cause the proteins of the cell not to work properly. Mutated genes involved in “brain formation”, “brain metabolism”, and “brain communication” can cause epilepsy
• Genes could involve:
- Brain malformations
- Brain metabolism
- Brain communication