Ashkenazi Jewish Descent

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1 Description
2 Synopsis
3 Applicability
4 Instructions
5 Relationships
6 Attributes
7 Reference

[edit] Description

Ashkenazi is the term used to describe Jews who have ancestors from Eastern or Central Europe. Today, there are Ashkenazi Jews all over the world and many are intermarrying. But for centuries, political and religious factors ensured their genetic isolation from the population at large.

The link between BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations and breast and ovarian cancer was discovered in 1994. Later, additional studies conducted with DNA samples revealed that people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage are more likely to have mutations in these genes than members of the general population. Furthermore, researchers have discovered that three specific mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes account for approximately 90 percent of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations identified in Ashkenazi Jews.

This is in contrast to the hundreds of unique BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations that genetic testing has turned up in people who are not of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.