IMO, that would depend on which Brown one was descended from and what one would consider 'unusual'. In my immediate (4 generations) - extended family members of Brown now living, I have an awareness of Parkinson's being prevalent in some branches female members, Hodgkin's being prevalent in some branches male members, Crohn's being prevalent in both genders; as are many of the 'common' health problems of many persons in our modern sedentary world of high-blood pressure, heart disease, adult onset diabetes (TypeII - some are insulin dependant) - to offset all of this seems to be an amazing resilience among the members of the family who even 150 years ago were living well into their 80s and beyond. http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs/crohns/crohns.htm Theories about what causes Crohn's disease abound, but none has been proven. The most popular theory is that the body's immune system reacts to a virus or a bacterium by causing ongoing inflammation in the intestine. People with Crohn's disease tend to have abnormalities of the immune system, but doctors do not know whether these abnormalities are a cause or result of the disease. Crohn's disease is not caused by emotional distress. http://www.pdf.org/aboutdisease/overview/symptoms.html The actual cause of PD is not known. Although a defective gene was recently found in a few families with extraordinarily high incidences of PD, most researchers believe that in the vast majority of cases, genetic factors alone are not responsible for causing the disease. Instead, it is suspected that Parkinson's usually results from the combination of a genetic predisposition and an as yet unidentified environmental trigger. When PD occurs, degenerative changes are found in an area of the brain known as the substantia nigra, which produces dopamine, a chemical substance that enables people to move normally and smoothly. Parkinson's disease is characterized by a severe shortage of dopamine. It is this deficiency that causes the symptoms of PD. http://www3.cancer.org/cancerinfo/load_cont.asp?st=pr&ct=20&language=english "Certain families have been described with many family members who develop Hodgkin's disease, but this doesn't seem to be caused by a problem with their genes. Even if someone does have one or more risk factors for Hodgkin's disease, it is impossible to know for sure how much that risk factor contributed to causing the cancer. In general, we can say that no major risk factors for Hodgkin's disease have been discovered yet." > Could someone tell me please if there are any unusual hereditary illnesses > common to Brown families ? > Sorry about the wording but I couldn't seem to work it out any other way! > > Thanks for any/all help, Gerri Ann --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.251 / Virus Database: 124 - Release Date: 4/26/01