The Human Body System

Diseases

Osteogenesis imperfecta is a genetic disorder that causes you to have very brittle bones, much like Osteoperosis does. It is catagorized in to 6 levels. People who have this disease may have over 100 bones that break in their lifetime. Often times, people with this disease have Sclera, or whites of the eyes that have a slight tint of blue, purple, or grey tint. Because their bones are deformed some variations of the disease might have a triangular face look, hearing loss, or brittle teeth. Because this is a genetic disorder, you are not able to catch this disease, pervent it, or tell how often someone gets it unless the genes are passes on to you. The number of people who have this disease is unknown in the United States, but there is an estimate of about 20,000 - 50,000 people who have it. This disease has not been cured yet, so unfortunately the only way to treat it is to develop muscle strenght and bone mass, take care of fractures, and possible add metal rods to the bones.  A person who has this disease, must take very good care of themself, minimalize the chance of breaking bones, and maximize the amount of independent mobility.