Understanding an Animal Cell: Basic Units of Life
The cell is the fundament unit of life. They make up the smallest level of a living organism in the human body, where the metabolic processes happen to in order to maintain life. It itself is considered a mini-organism made up from organs called organelles. These organelles are the structural and functional units and are created from several macromolecules connected together. A typical animal cell contains the following organelles (Tracey Greenwood, 2012): the nucleus (which houses the DNA), mitochondria (which produce energy), ribosomes (which make protein), the endoplasmic reticulum (for transportation) and the golgi apparatus (which distributes…show more content… Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), is a deadly genetic disorder that is quite rare affects 1 in 1800 (Foundation, 2004). The disease affects the adrenal glands & ‘White Matter’ of the brain by destroying myelin, the protective casing that surrounds the brain's neurons. It causes progressive loss of physical and mental skills. It is a group of disorders caused by a defect of peroxisomes, which help to the brake down of fatty acids in the cells, resulting in very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA).
The most disturbing form of ALD emerges in childhood, normally between the ages of four and ten years old. Healthy boys unexpectedly begin to regress. At first, they show withdrawal or experience difficulty in concentrating. Then, as the disease destroys their brain, their symptoms get worse, including deafness and blindness, loss of muscle control, seizures and progressive dementia. Leading to either death or permanent disability, within 2 to 5 years from diagnosis.
There are three types of Adrenoleukodystrophy; Childhood cerebral ALD affects children who are between 4 and 10 years old. It progresses rapidly if the condition is not diagnosed early enough, Adrenomyelopathy (AMN), affects adult males and is milder than childhood cerebral ALD. But it progresses slowly by comparison and Addison’s disease, also known adrenal insufficiency. Addi-son’s disease develops when your adrenal glands don’t make enough
