CLINICAL APPLICATIONS IN HUMAN GENETICS,
SPECIFIC OF JEWISH GENETIC DISORDERS
By
Sharon Fleiner Smith Kindron
Student ID Number: 12978
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,
Individual Program –
Ashkenazi Jewish Genetic Disorder Studies
at Century University.
To
Dr. William Mayhill,
Faculty Advisor
CENTURY UNIVERSITY
December 31, 2007
Approved____________________________________
Date Approved________________________________
© Copyright 2007
Sharon Fleiner Smith Kindron
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Topic Headings
1. Introduction
a. Acquired Versus Hereditary Diseases
b. What It Means To Belong To An Ethnic Group
c. Heredity Versus Geography
d. Some Ethnic Difference In Health
e. A Brief History of the Roots of Genetics — Mendel
2. Why The Jews?
a. The Diaspora
b. Genetic Markers
c. Why “Jewish Diseases?”
d. Faustain Bargains
e. Founders
3. Blood Disorders
a. Gaucher Disease
b. Fanconi Anemia
4. Cancers
a. Breast Cancer and Ovarian Cancer
b. Colorectal Cancer
5. Central Nervous System Disorders
a. Canavan Disease
b. Familial Dysautonomia
c. Mucolipdosis Type IV
d. Neimann-Pick Disease
e. Tay-Sachs Disease
6. Connective Tissue Disorders
a. Familial Mediterranean Fever
7. Gastrointestinal Disorders
a. Inflammatory Bowel Disease —
1. Ulcerative Colitis
2. Crohn’s Disease
8. Respiratory Disorders
a. Cystic Fibrosis
9. Skin Disorders
a. Bloom Syndrome
Closing — Eliminating Jewish Genetic Diseases
Student Comments
Endnotes
Introduction
Someone once told me, " Illness is as old as mankind. Get used to it."
What were the explanations for illness and disease occurrences? When did
people start tracking illnesses and diseases? Why did I have some illnesses
and diseases that others that grew up with me not have? We drank the
same water. We played in the same playgrounds. We bought our food at
the same grocery stores. Yet, some of us were more ill and had life-long
diseases than others. Why?
In the ancient Near East, people believed that illness was caused by
someon