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PubMed2003

[Epigenetic heredity in evolution].

We discuss the role of cell memory in heredity and evolution. We describe the properties of the epigenetic inheritance systems (EISs) that underlie cell memory and enable environmentally and developmentally induced cell phenotypes to be transmitted in cell lineages, and argue that transgenerational epigenetic inheritance is an important and neglected part of heredity. By looking at the part EISs have played in the evolution of multicellularity, ontogeny, chromosome organization, and the origin of some post-mating isolating mechanisms, we show how considering the role of epigenetic inheritance can sometimes shed light on major evolutionary processes.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

[Geneticists in the service of war? The German Research Foundation, the Reich Research Council, and policy changes in research on heredity].

Historical research has hitherto focused on the specific contribution of human genetics research to National Socialist racial hygiene. During the Third Reich this field had a key position and received very substantial financial support from the government. However, this state sponsorship during the Nazi period was not constant, as documents from the most important public funding organizations for academic research in Germany, the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and the Reich Research Council (Reichsforschungsrat) show. Human genetics saw a reduction in sponsorship as the government shifted its spending towards preparations for the war. Accordingly, many human geneticists and racial hygienists were unable to continue their research or were forced to change the focus of their work. It is also important to note that much of the available funds were concentrated on the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics. This essay analyzes the institutional context of science policy as well as the dynamics between the science of human heredity and Nazi politics during the war.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMed1997

The role of heredity in late-onset Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia. A twin study.

BACKGROUND: This study compares the relative importance of heredity and environment in the development of Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia. The relationship between apolipoprotein E and dementia is also tested. METHODS: A total of 23,000 cognitively impaired subjects from Norwegian institutions for the elderly were identified, and their files were checked against the records of 26,000 twin pairs from the Norwegian Twin Register. A sample of 72 twin pairs was selected and thoroughly investigated clinically. The mean age of the sample was 80 years. RESULTS: The pairwise concordance rate for Alzheimer disease was 78% (7/9) among monozygotic and 39% (9/23) among dizygotic twin pairs. The probandwise concordance rate was 83% (10/12) among monozygotic and 46% (12/26) among dizygotic twin pairs. There was no significant difference in the rate of apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 allele between twin pairs concordant and discordant for Alzheimer disease. By using tetrachoric correlations, the estimated heritability was approximately 0.6. Environmental factors shared by cotwins seemed to explain most of the remaining variance. In vascular dementia, there was no significant difference in pairwise concordance rates among monozygotic (1/6 [17%]) and dizygotic (4/16 [25%]) twin pairs or in probandwise concordance rates among monozygotic (2/7 [29%]) and dizygotic (5/17 [29%]) twin pairs. CONCLUSION: Heredity is the major causal factor in late onset Alzheimer disease, whereas environmental factors dominate in vascular dementia.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

Mitochondrial genes and cell heredity.

It is well known that mitochondria are only partly an autonomous system since they are subjected to nuclear control. For this reason, in studying mitochondrial genes one has to consider constantly the integration of mitochondrial and nuclear genetic systems. This fact makes experimental approaches still more sophisticated, especially, when one turns from individual genetic structures to mitochondrial heredity on the level of cells and multicellular organisms. Here we shall discuss some theoretical aspects of mitochondrial heredity that have been comparatively rarely dealt with in the literature.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Skeletal muscle fibre composition in new Zealand white rabbits, wild rabbits and wild rabbits bred in captivity: effect of heredity.

1. The muscle composition of 3 breeds of rabbit was investigated histochemically in 3 muscle groups in order to identify whether heredity or environment was the predominant factor in dictating composition. 2. In the biceps femoris, differences between the breeds in myosin ATPase activity were due to heredity, whereas differences in oxidative potential were due to environment. 3. In the flexor digitorum longus, the wild rabbit possessed the highest percentage of type I fibres. This was environmentally induced.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed2002

The influence of heredity on self-reported sleep patterns in free-living humans.

The heritability of self-reported sleep patterns was investigated with 86 identical and 78 fraternal same-sex and 51 fraternal mixed-gender adult twin pairs who were paid to maintain 7-day diaries. Linear structural modeling was applied to investigate the nature and degree of genetic and environmental influences and revealed significant genetic influences on the time that individuals went to sleep and woke up, how often the individual woke up during the night, the duration of sleep and wakefulness, and how alert the individual felt upon waking and over the day, accounting for 21% to 41% of the variance. These influences of heredity were present for sleep-wake behavior over the entire week and also when the sleep-wake pattern was analyzed separately for weekdays and weekends. Further, it was demonstrated that there were multiple independent influences of heredity on sleep-wake behavior. The results suggest that sleep-wake patterns are not learned but result in part from multiple heritable influences.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

A study of heredity as a risk factor in strabismus.

AIMS: Inheritance is recognised to have a part in the aetiology of strabismus but previous studies have not adequately distinguished between different types of strabismus leading to wide variations in reported findings. The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of heredity in different types of strabismus. METHODS: The parents of children attending for treatment of strabismus over a one-month period were interviewed to identify relatives with a history of strabismus. A complete three-generation pedigree was established for 96 index cases who were classified into four groups: infantile esotropia (26 cases), accommodative esotropia (49 cases), anisometropic esotropia (15 cases), and exotropia (six cases). RESULTS: Forty-three of a total of 165 (26.1%) first degree relatives of patients with hypermetropic accommodative esotropia were affected. In contrast, 15 of a total of 101 (14.9%) first degree relatives of patients with infantile esotropia, eight of a total of 66 (12.1%) first degree relatives of patients with anisometropic esotropia, and one of a total of 25 (4%) first degree relatives of patients with exotropia were affected. Analysing the data using logistic regression with a random term for family showed a significantly higher proportion of affected first degree relatives in the accommodative group than in any of the other three diagnostic groups. CONCLUSION: A history of strabismus appears to be more common in hypermetropic accommodative esotropia than in infantile esotropia, anisometropic esotropia or exotropia. More detailed investigation of the role of heredity in the aetiology of accommodative esotropia is needed.

Child↗
PubMed1977

A reexamination of the role of heredity in stuttering.

In the light of recent breakthrough in the study of schizophrenia indicating a far stronger genetic factor than has been previously suspected, the role of heredity in stuttering is critically reexamined. Present knowledge of the role of heredity in stuttering springs from four principal data sources: (1) studies of familial incidence; (2) spontaneous recovery studies; (3) twin studies; and (4) studies of parental disfluency. It is hypothesized that the 4:1 sex ratio in stuttering may be the product of selective genetic factors. Critical examination of earlier and more recent studies leads to substantial evidence that a familial predisopsing factor exists in about 25% cases of stuttering.

Dominance, Cerebral↗
PubMed2001

Irritable bowel syndrome in twins: heredity and social learning both contribute to etiology.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Heredity has been suggested to explain the finding that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) tends to run in families. Research in this area has been limited. The aim of the present study was to assess the relative contribution of genetic and environmental (social learning) influences on the development of IBS by comparing concordance rates in monozygotic and dizygotic twins to concordance between mothers and their children. METHODS: Questionnaires soliciting information on the occurrence of more than 80 health problems, including IBS, in self and other family members were sent to both members of 11,986 twin pairs. RESULTS: Analysis is based on 10,699 respondents representing 6060 twin pairs. Concordance for IBS was significantly greater (P = 0.030) in monozygotic (17.2%) than in dizygotic (8.4%) twins, supporting a genetic contribution to IBS. However, the proportion of dizygotic twins with IBS who have mothers with IBS (15.2%) was greater than the proportion of dizygotic twins with IBS who have co-twins with IBS (6.7%, P < 0.001), and logistic regression analysis showed that having a mother with IBS and having a father with IBS are independent predictors of irritable bowel status (P < 0.001); both are stronger predictors than having a twin with IBS. Addition of information about the other twin accounted for little additional predictive power. CONCLUSIONS: Heredity contributes to development of IBS, but social learning (what an individual learns from those in his or her environment) has an equal or greater influence.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Heredity in personality disorders--an overview.

The concept of personality disorders is based on deviant personality traits in both the DSM-III-R and ICD-10 classifications. A diagnosis of personality disorder can be made reliably with structured interviews. Many individuals are diagnosed with more than one personality disorder, and other mental disorders are often found at the same time. Among the 11 personality disorders in DSM-III-R, only the schizotypal, borderline, and antisocial have been examined to any considerable extent for gene effects. The problems of studying heredity are here demonstrated for borderline and antisocial personality disorders. Recommendations are given as to strategies for further study of heredity in personality disorders.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed2004

Development of atopy and wheezing symptoms in relation to heredity and early pet keeping in a Swedish birth cohort.

The role of pet keeping during infancy for the development of allergy and asthma is still controversial. The objective of this population-based birth cohort study was to assess the development of atopy and different wheezing phenotypes during the first 4 yr of life in relation to heredity and early pet keeping. The cohort comprised all 1228 infants living in a Swedish county who were born over a 1-yr period. The parents replied to repeated questionnaires and 817 of the children were skin prick tested both at 1 and 4 yr. Cat keeping during the first year of life was associated with an increased risk of a positive skin prick test to cat at 1 yr of age [odds ratio (OR) 2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9-5.6], but neither with sensitivity nor clinical symptoms of allergy at 4 yr. Dog keeping during the first year of life was associated with an increased risk of early-onset transient wheezing, but only in children with parental asthma (adjusted OR 4.3, 95% CI 1.5-12.1). In contrast, early dog keeping had an inverse association with sensitivity to pollen allergen at 4 yr (adjusted OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1-0.9) and late-onset wheezing (adjusted OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2-1.0). Thus, pet keeping during the first year of life was not associated with an increased risk of atopy at 4 yr, although a positive SPT to cat was more common at 1 yr. Our findings may even suggest that dog keeping during the first year of life might provide some protection from pollen allergy and late-onset wheezing and increase the risk of early-onset transient wheezing in children with heredity for asthma.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Heredity and dementia.

This is a study on the heredity of dementia in the ageing of the Alzheimer, vascular and Pick types. The incidence of the same type of dementia among parents, siblings and offspring of the probands is higher than that in the general population. Alzheimer dementia (AD): Presenile familial AD follows a dominant mode of inheritance: many pedigrees with numerous cases in successive generations, and higher incidence of AD among the parents than among the siblings. Senile familial AD seems to follow a recessive mode: pedigree with 2 or more cases usually in only one generation, and higher incidence of AD among the siblings than among the parents. Yet presenile and senile AD cases are sometimes found in the same family. The heredity factors involved in AD may be partially common for the presenile and senile forms. Vascular dementia (VD): In families of VD probands, the incidence of VD and brain strokes is higher in parents than in siblings, and familial vascular cases are more numerous in two generations than in one. A familial diathesis seems to exist for VD, following a dominant mode of inheritance. Pick dementia (PD): The form of brain lobar atrophy of PD with gliosis, argyrophilic inclusions (AI) and/or ballooned neurons (BN), when it is familial, follows a dominant mode of inheritance: many pedigrees with numerous cases in successive generations. The form of PD without AI or BN, but with only gliosis, when it is familial, seems to follow a recessive mode: some pedigrees with 2 or more cases in only one generation.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Heredity and changes in plasma lipids and lipoproteins after short-term exercise training in men.

The aims of this controlled experiment were to investigate the effects of short-term aerobic exercise training on plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations and the role of heredity in determining the individual variation observed in the lipoprotein-lipid response. Six pairs of male monozygotic (MZ) twins were subjected to an exercise training program that induced a 22,000 kcal energy deficit after 22 consecutive days of training. This program significantly reduced body weight, percent body fat, and subcutaneous fat and significantly increased maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) (p less than 0.005). The plasma insulin response to an oral glucose challenge was markedly reduced after training (p less than 0.001). Plasma triglyceride concentration decreased and the high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-CHOL)/CHOL ratio increased with training (p less than 0.05). Subjects also displayed substantial individual variation in their response to exercise training, but the changes in plasma CHOL, apolipoprotein (apo) B low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-CHOL), HDL-CHOL, and the HDL-CHOL/CHOL ratio tended to be similar within MZ twin pairs (0.67 less than or equal to ri less than or equal to 0.92; 0.05 greater than p less than 0.0001) thus indicating a significant effect of heredity on the sensitivity of plasma lipids and lipoproteins to exercise training.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Heredity and character disorders.

The role of heredity in personality development and character disorder has been studied by a variety of means. These include investigation of twins and/or families, using clinical ratings, personality scales, or psychological tests; observation of neonates and infants; and longitudinal description of discordant pairs of twins. Attention to the interaction of heredity and environment provides new strategies for prevention and treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The role of heredity in cancer.

Heredity is generally felt to play a minor role in the development of cancer. This review critically examines this assumption. Topics discussed include evidence for heritable predisposition in animals and humans; the potential importance of genetic-environmental interactions; approaches that are being used to successfully locate genes responsible for heritable predisposition; comparability of genetic findings among heritable and corresponding sporadic malignancies; and future research directions. Breast, colon, and lung cancer are used to exemplify clinical and research activity in familial cancer; clinical phenotypes, segregation and linkage analyses, models for environmental interactions with inherited traits, and molecular mechanisms of tumor development are discussed. We conclude that the contribution of heredity to the cancer burden is greater than generally accepted, and that study of heritable predisposition will continue to reveal carcinogenic mechanisms important to the development of all cancers.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Heredity versus abnormalities in pregnancy and delivery as risk factors for different types of comitant strabismus.

PURPOSE: To elucidate risk factors for different types of comitant strabismus, the incidence of heredity and abnormalities in pregnancy and delivery was compared among different types of strabismus. METHODS: Between May 1998 and January 1999, a prospective clinical study of 500 consecutive patients with comitant strabismus at a referral-based university hospital was performed using data collected from questionnaires and interviews. Inclusion criteria were infantile esotropia (168 patients), accommodative and partially accommodative esotropia (97 patients), microesotropia (15 patients), acquired esotropia (12 patients), intermittent or constant exotropia (205 patients), and congenital exotropia (3 patients). Exclusion criteria were strabismus associated with systemic and central nervous system abnormalities and organic eye diseases. RESULTS: Family history was significantly more prevalent in intermittent or constant exotropia and accommodative or partially accommodative esotropia than in infantile esotropia (P<.0001 and P=.0267, respectively, Fisher's exact test). In contrast, abnormalities in pregnancy and delivery were noted at a significantly higher rate in infantile esotropia than in accommodative or partially accommodative and in intermittent or constant exotropia (P=.003 and P=.0215, respectively). Patients with infantile esotropia were significantly younger at the survey than those with the other two types of strabismus (P=.0004 and P<.0001). No significant difference was found in the number of siblings, birthweight, maternal age at delivery, or maternal cigarette smoking or alcohol drinking among these three types of strabismus. CONCLUSION: Heredity and abnormalities in pregnancy and delivery are two major risk factors for comitant strabismus and contribute at different levels to the development of infantile esotropia, accommodative or partially accommodative esotropia, and intermittent or constant exotropia.

Child↗
PubMed1999

Estimation of prostate cancer probability by logistic regression: free and total prostate-specific antigen, digital rectal examination, and heredity are significant variables.

BACKGROUND: Despite low specificity, serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is widely used in screening for prostate cancer. Specificity can be improved by measuring free and total PSA and by combining these results with clinical findings. Methods such as neural networks and logistic regression are alternatives to multistep algorithms for clinical use of the combined findings. METHODS: We compared multilayer perceptron (MLP) and logistic regression (LR) analysis for predicting prostate cancer in a screening population of 974 men, ages 55-66 years. The study sample comprised men with PSA values >3 microg/L. Explanatory variables considered were age, free and total PSA and their ratio, digital rectal examination (DRE), transrectal ultrasonography, and a family history of prostate cancer. RESULTS: When at least 90% sensitivity in the training sets was required, the mean sensitivity and specificity obtained were 87% and 41% with LR and 85% and 26% with MLP, respectively. The cancer specificity of an LR model comprising the proportion of free to total PSA, DRE, and heredity as explanatory variables was significantly better than that of total PSA and the proportion of free to total PSA (P <0.01, McNemar test). The proportion of free to total PSA, DRE, and heredity were used to prepare cancer probability curves. CONCLUSION: The probability calculated by logistic regression provides better diagnostic accuracy for prostate cancer than the presently used multistep algorithms for estimation of the need to perform biopsy.

Blood Proteins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An epitaph for the gene. An obituary for genetics. An adieu for heredity.

Modern medicine has been researching on cancer cell, cancer, hypertension, heart attack and so on without once defining any of these clearly. It swears by these terms much like mankind swears by sunset and sunrise, which are just not there. It is possible that the pet hobbyhorses of modern times, namely, gene, genetics, and heredity may belong to the above mythical group-entities that are logically absent, but whose illogic is strong enough to sustain research and publication world over. Gene, genetics and heredity have outlived their utility and must be replaced in near future by new concepts and terms.

Genetics, Medical↗