Huntington 's Disease And The Nervous System

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a genetic disorder in which the necrosis of cells in the brain causes early death [9]. The neurodegeneration of the brain leads to mechanical and psychological symptoms, which can present normally from 30 to 50 years of age or even earlier, which is referred to as Juvenile Huntington’s Disease [3,5,6]. Some mechanical symptoms of HD are change in gait, uncontrolled or sudden movement, abnormal face movement, turning the whole head instead of using the eyes, difficulty swallowing, impairment of speech and general decrease of motor skills [1]. Psychological symptoms include but are not limited to paranoia, irritability, mood swings, changes in behavior such as agitation or instability and

Huntington’s Disease is an inherited disease of the brain where the nerve cells break down over time. Huntington’s disease can also be called HD or Huntington’s Chorea, due to over 90% of patients having Chorea as well as HD. Chorea is an abnormal body movement disorder, which affects people with HD when it comes to muscle spasms, and involuntary movements. HD is a very rare disease, fewer than 200,000 cases in the U.S. per year. If an immediate family member has HD, you have a 1 in 2 (50%) chance of inheriting the disease. After the condition appears, patient usually lives for 15 to 18 years, HD is a guaranteed death. HD can cause cognitive amnesia, memory loss, behavioral issues (irritability, lack of restraint, etc.), psychological problems (delirium, depression, paranoia, etc.), anxiety, apathy, mood swings, and many more.

According to Genetic Science Learning Center, it has been stated that approximately 1 in every 30,000 Americans have been affected with Huntington Disease and is considered one of the most common brain disorders due to heredity (Genetic Science Learning Center). This disease was discovered by a 22-year-old American doctor, named George Huntington, in 1872. Huntington wrote a paper called On Chorea which was published in the Medical and Surgical Reporter, and the disorder later become known as Huntington Chorea, but is now commonly known as Huntington Disease (What Is The History of Huntington’s Disease?). Huntington disease-like Syndrome (HDL) is a condition that resembles a lot like Huntington disease (HD) (Huntington disease-like Syndrome).

Huntington Disease is a rare inherited Neurological illness. This illness is passed down from generation, but may not show up until you are an adult and is may no never show up. It often appears in more than one member if it occurs in a family. This a Genetic Condition. The change in the genetic information that is passed down is what causes Huntington's Disease. This illness causes involuntary movements, severe emotional disturbance. Huntington causes parts of the brain to break down and lose some natural functions and affects the Nervous system. The very first noticeable symptoms of this illness in changes in personality and muscle twitches. You would usually start to notice these symptoms around the age of 30 to 50. The men and women with

Huntington’s Disease is a disorder in the brain that has an impact on the way people talk, think, and move. The disease kills off cells in the part of the brain that controls movements, emotions, and cognitive ability, which is called the basal ganglia. The brain cells of people with Huntington’s Disease build up lots of protein that eventually turn toxic, and cause the cells to die over time. People with this disease can lose up to 25% of their brain cells before they die!

Envision a life that is completely normal, walking and talking, running and playing, driving. However, then life begins to change. The person starts to stutter when speaking. Walking becomes difficult as the person trips over their own feet with jerky movements and even falls. Eventually, the ability to walk disappears and a wheelchair is the norm. No more running, playing, or driving. Balance and memory problems will appear in due course. Subsequently, even eating may be complicated leading to the possibility of a feeding tube. Loss of physical and mental abilities will progressively become worse. Ultimately, a long-term care facility may be in the future. This is the progression and life of a person with Huntington’s

Huntington’s disease, named after George Huntington, was discovered in 1872. It is a neurological condition that is caused by an altered gene. This gene is passed from parent to child, but the disease cannot be seen until a later age. As the disease affects the brain by death of brain cells, the patient loses thinking. Also loss of physical and emotional functions such as walking, feeling pain, and lack of display of emotion. The symptoms start to appear when adults are around the age of 30 as well as up to 70. The most common symptom of Huntington’s is chorea. Chorea is where the body jerks, usually in the arms and legs. They may also experience difficulty speaking, swallowing, and focusing.

“The time from disease onset to death is often about 10 to 30 years. Juvenile onset usually results in death within 10 years” (Huntington's disease, 2014). The rate of progression varies from person to person. The disease itself will not kill you, but complications from the disease. Pneumonia is the top cause of death of HD at 51.1 percent (Liou, 2010). Heart attack, kidney failure, gastrointestinal disease, and suicide are also some of the top complications with Huntington’s

In a journal called "Huntington 's Disease," by Joyce Free, she states that "H.D. is an inherited degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Premature degeneration of nerve tissue in the cerebral cortex and at the basal ganglia from unknown causes. Life expectancy averages 15 years from the time of diagnosis. H.D. usually shows up in the third or fourth decade of life and is insidious: a quiet, gentle person becomes tense with outbursts of temper; an excitable person becomes passive and withdrawn "(1977 p.44). Like Free mentions the part of the nerves that H.D. attacks is happening in the brain. It affects parts of the brain that is meant for motor control. Because of this aggressive attack of the motor segment of the brain behavioral changes will be apparent to the normal eye.

Huntington’s disease is a hereditary and progressive disorder that affects the neurons of the brain to deteriorate later in life in terms of cognitive and motor skills.

In the United States, approximately 30,000 Americans have Huntington’s disease. Huntington’s disease, also known as Huntington’s chorea, is an autosomal dominant disorder that causes selected neural cell death. With this disease comes concerns regarding what the disease is, its history, and it symptoms. In addition to those components, its stages, diagnoses, and treatments are of great importance as well.

Huntington’s disease, or Huntington’s chorea, is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle proficiency and proceeds to psychological decline and behavioral symptoms (Huntington’s Society, 2013). Symptoms are similar to what is seen with Parkinson’s disease, nevertheless they vary between different individuals and its progression is almost always foreseeable. Those who are suffering from Huntington’s often see symptoms anywhere between the ages of 30-50, however it has been seen in individuals as young as two and as old as 70( Huntington’s Society, 2013). Along with the progression of the disease the severity of the symptoms increase and can be separated into three different stages. In the first stage there are usually slight uncontrolled muscle movements, lack of concentration and mood changes. As the severity worsens they may need assistance proceeding with everyday activities such as walking talking and even swallowing. Irregular jerking movements of the limbs are more consistent and more noticeable to others. In

The following paper will cover a description of Huntington’s disease and the symptoms that go along with it, how to test for Huntington’s disease, a case study, what gene is involved, the chances of

Huntington’s disease, or HD, is a genetic neuro-generative condition that is characterized by progressive dysfunction in motor, cognitive and behavioral abilities. There are about 4-10 cases per 100,000 throughout the world, which makes it one of the most prevalent genetic neuro-generative disorders. Huntington’s disease is a dominant gene mutation that occurs in the huntingtin gene. The result is an excessive repeat of the nucleotide triad cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) and causes damage to neurons. The striatum of the brain and the cerebral cortex are most affected by the gene but other parts of the brain atrophy as well. Typically, onset begins around the 4th decade of life although an early onset form can occur before the age of 20.

Huntington's Disease is an inherited autosomal, dominant neurodegenerative disorder. The disease is characterized by a gradual worsening of neuromotor function, mood stability, and cognitive function. Manifestations include: chorea (disordered, involuntary movement), worsening behavioral changes, impaired gait, all leading to complete loss of cognitive faculties, loss of voluntary movement, speech/communication deficits, inability to perform ADLs, dysphagia, dysarthria and dementia. Onset of the disease is around 35 – 40 years of age. Death usually occurs within 10 - 15 years of this onset18.