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Southwestern Athabaskan (Navajo and Apache) genetic diseases
1Steele Memorial Children's Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, USA. erickson@peds.arizona.edu
Purpose:
Four apparently unique disorders are known among the Southwestern Athabasan Amerindians, i.e., the Navajo and Apache; they are Athabaskan severe combined immunodeficiency, Navajo neuropathy, Navajo poikiloderma, and Athabaskan brainstem dysgenesis. This study reviews background information on Athabaskan groups and clinical descriptions of these recessive disorders.
Methods:
The major clinical findings of these four disorders are reviewed. In addition, the findings of epidemiological surveys are included where available.
Results:
Although the importance of genetic bottlenecks in increasing the frequency of rare, sometimes unique, autosomal recessive disorders is known for a number of populations, similar phenomena among Native Americans seem to be less well known.
Conclusion:
As many more Native Americans move off the Reservation, the awareness of susceptibility to particular genetic diseases needs to be more widely disseminated.