Reading Comprehension

Kindly help me to figure out the correct strategy to sove this RC in time.
Even after attempting the RC without any time limit, I am not sure of the correct ans

Lysosomal storage diseases form a category of genetic disorders resulting from defective enzymes that normally function to break down unneeded molecules in cells. These enzymes do their work in the lysosome, a small compartment in a cell analogous to a garbage disposal. When any one of the lysosomal enzymes is defective, the molecules that would have been broken down by that enzyme instead accumulate and cause that individual's lysosomes to swell enormously, resulting in motor and mental deterioration, often to the point of premature death. The age of onset, rate of progression, and severity of the clinical symptoms observed in patients with the same defective lysosomal enzyme are highly variable. For many years, this variability in patients with the same defective enzyme puzzled scientists. Only recently have researchers begun to answer the riddle, thanks to a genetic analysis of a particular lysosomal storage disorder known as Tay-Sachs disease.

As in most lysosomal storage diseases, patients suffering from Tay-Sachs disease show both mental and motor deterioration and variability in age of onset, progression, and severity. Physicians have categorized the patients into three groups based on onset of the disease: infantile, juvenile, and adult. The infantile group begins to show neurodegeneration as early as six months of age and children rarely live beyond 3 years old. The first symptoms of the disease appear in juvenile cases between 2 and 5 years of age, with death usually occurring around age 15. Those with the adult form generally live out a normal lifespan, suffering from milder symptoms than those with the infantile and juvenile forms.

In Tay-Sachs disease, scientists were aware that molecules accumulated mainly in the brains of patients, but they did not discover the specific identity of the defective lysosomal enzyme responsible for the malfunction, hexosaminidase, until the 1960s. In 1985, the DNA sequence for the normal enzyme was determined. Shortly thereafter, the DNA sequences of genes encoding hexosaminidase from many Tay-Sachs patients were studied. It soon became apparent that not one or two but many different types of mutations in the hexosaminidase gene could result in Tay-Sachs disease. These different mutations resulted in various levels of impaired enzymatic activity; those in the infantile category had little to no normal activity, while those in the adult category suffered only moderate impairment. Scientists quickly hypothesized that the variation in age of onset and severity of Tay-Sachs disease correlated with the amount of residual enzymatic activity allowed by the particular genetic mutation a patient had. Though more research is needed to demonstrate similarity with other lysosomal storage diseases, the work done on Tay-Sachs disease has already offered a promising glimpse into the underlying mechanisms of these disorders.

The passage suggests that which of the following lines of inquiry would be most useful in determining the relevance of the research done on Tay-Sachs disease to lysosomal storage diseases generally?

<>Do patients suffering from other lysosomal storage diseases have the same mortality rate as those suffering from Tay-Sachs?
<>Do other lysosomal storage diseases affect the hexosaminidase gene?
<>How many different mutations are present in the defective genes responsible for other lysosomal storage diseases?
<>Does the age of onset or severity of other lysosomal storage diseases vary with the specific genetic mutation observed in the patient?
<>What purpose does hexosaminidase serve in the human body?



It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following statements is true of lysosomal storage diseases?

They are generally caused by mutations to the hexosaminidase gene.
They are undetectable until physical symptoms are present.
They can be fatal even when allowing some enzymatic activity
They are most lethal when onset is in a patient's infancy.
Their causes were unknown before the 1950s.




The author of the passage is primarily concerned with

<>illuminating the physiological consequences of Tay-Sachs disease
<>explaining the importance of research on a specific disease to other diseases of that type
<>arguing for a more detailed examination of lysosomal storage diseases
<>challenging a traditional view of a class of diseases as incomplete
<>describing the implications of genetic mutations for mortality rates

1) B
@) D
3) B

Shawshank wrote:1) B
@) D
3) B

1) wrong
2)wrong
3) correct

pls do tell me ur startegy if u get all 3 correct in 6-7 min

little under 8 minutes, but I got the second one wrong.
My answers: D, D, B

On second thoughts:
D, B, B

Strategy:

If you note only the first few lines are convoluted and the rest of the passage flows pretty easily. The idea is to grasp the key points without getting inundated with too many technicalities. As you read, make a mental outline of the passage by highlighting the key points and understanding specific details. Try to draw an outline like this. I have left specific ideas out in my mental outline such as the correlation explained in para 3 because it is easy to understand and I know where to come back for each specific detail.

Para 1:
1) cause of LSD - enzyme disorder
2) variability in age, severity and progression
3) causes of variation not clear

Para 2:
1) TSD - form of LSD, categorization based on age, severity, progression

Para 3:
1) specific causes of TSD - different hexo gene in different categories
2) variation in A,S,P correlated to amount of hexo activity - note the variation

General points: Draws a broad conclusion about LSD based on specific research on TSD

Answer the Q's
1) I know that I have to go to para 3 for the answer. While reading I noted that the author states that it will be useful to find out if the variation described in para 3 also applies to other LSDs, based on this we select option D

2) Q is about LSD in general so eliminate option A,C,D pertaining to TSD specifics. The answer to this Q will lie in para 1, E can be eliminated based on fact that scientists knew that "some" enzyme was responsible for LSD. We have B from POE OR if you refer back to para 1 there is specific information which states that LSD leads to premature death...which implies that symptoms are not detected until the patient dies.

3) Eliminate all TSD specific options - A, E.
B does not draw the main point of the passage and D is absurd.
C is clearly true and holds the essence of the passage.

My picks are C, A & B. Pls post OA.

my picks are
C
C
B

please post OA

What are OAS

I got Ans as below:

1 b
2 e
3 b

Pls udate real anss.

My choices
C
B
B

Please post OA.

thank you...

1 D
2 B

7 min 30 sec

D
D
B

OA??