Degenerative Diseases

The law of biological growth is that every living cell in its course follows a set pattern of Birth->Growth->Attainment of peak size and maximum functional efficiency->decline of efficiency and finally->death.
This is not only true of the individual cell but also of the organism as a whole. The latter part of the growth curve where degrading process set in towards its march to death is sometimes talked about as degeneration. An old man’s arteries are thickened (arterio sclerosis), the skin is wrinkled, the special organs like the eye or ear loss their functional efficiency due to certain changes like cataract(opacity of the lens) or oto-sclerosis (thickening of ear ossicles leading to deafness). These are the part of the multiple degenerative processes of old age. The basis of these changes is certain alterations of the various metabolic processes both quantitatively and qualitatively.
But degenerative disorders need not occur in old age. Due to some known or unknown causes, metabolic defects can cause such diseases even at the younger age groups e.g., degeneration of certain cells of spinal cord due to vitamin B12 deficiency,
degeneration of nerve cells in diabetes or lead poisoning or degeneration of cerebellum leading to imbalance of movements (ataxia) occurring as a result of hereditary factors, are some examples of these diseases. As medical science advances and discovers the pathways leading to these diseases, effective treatment to check these or cure them may be possible.