Huntington 's Disease Is A Rare Progressive Genetic Disorder

Imagine not remembering the names of your family members, having difficulty swallowing, not being able to control your movements. Imagine being trapped in a body that is turning against you, slowly deteriorating around you and you are helpless to stop it. This is the very real and terrifying reality for those with Huntington’s disease. “Many describe the symptoms of HD as having ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s – simultaneously.” This disease isn’t picky, it devastates the families of people from all races or ethnic groups around the world, and a person’s sex isn’t an issue. “Huntington’s disease is a fatal genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain.” This disease is passed from

Huntington’s Disease is a brain disorder affecting movement, cognition, and emotions (Schoenstadt). It is a genetic disorder generally affecting people in their middle 30s and 40s (Sheth). Worldwide, Huntington’s disease (affects between 3-7 per 100,000 people of European ancestry (Schoenstadt). In the United States alone, 1 in every 30,000 people has Huntington’s disease (Genetic Learning Center). Huntington’s Disease is a multi-faceted disease, with a complex inheritance pattern and a wide range of symptoms. There is also much research being done in the field of Huntington’s disease, because as of 2012, this disease is untreatable. THESIS.

Everyone can relate to the pain of having to watch a grandparent or great-grandparent slowly loose their faculties as they advance into older age. Now, imagine if this seemingly slow digression hit hard and fast at only age thirty. The age where one is finally living alone and independent, with the beginnings of a successful career and the hopes of starting a family and settling down. Huntington’s Disease quickly takes all these dreams and ambitions away, along with control of ones body and mind. The symptoms of Huntington’s, such as involuntary muscle jerks or twitches, had been seen throughout history for many years before being first recognized as an inherited disease in 1872 by Dr. George Huntington (“Hope Through Research). “The hereditary

Huntington’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that slowly breaks down somatic tissues. This degeneration causes a mass amount of chorea, change in mental functioning, change in behavior, decreased memory, along with other serious psychological problems. Since the mechanism of the disease is still not fully understood, there is no cure for the disease, but there are several therapies and medications available. All of the medication and treatment available only help to manage symptoms; they are just stalling the progression of the symptoms but not the overall disease.

Huntington’s disease is an autosomal, dominant inherited disorder caused by a polyglutamine expansion at the amino-terminal on the huntingtin protein. It causes a progressive degeneration of spiny nerve cells in the striatum and cortex of the brain, impairing a person’s functional and cognitive abilities. Polyglutamine repeats of 36 are found to be non-threating but sequences containing an additional two or three repeats are associated with Huntington’s disease.

Huntington's disease is an inherited disease that causes the progressive breakdown (degeneration) of nerve cells in the brain. Huntington's disease has a broad impact on a person's functional abilities and usually results in movement, thinking (cognitive) and psychiatric disorders.

Huntington’s disease is a neurological (nervous system) condition caused by the inheritance of an altered gene. A neurological disorder is a disease that can affect the central and peripheral nervous systems. Huntington’s disease is an incurable genetic brain disorder. The disease is an autosomal dominant disease, meaning a child only needs to inherit the gene from one parent to develop Huntington’s. Nerve cells become damaged when someone holds the HTT gene that produces a protein called huntingtin, as too much of this protein damages cells, and causes various parts of the brain to gradually deteriorate. Huntington’s disease causes changes in the central area of the brain, the basal ganglia, which can affect movement, emotions, and mental

Huntington's Disease is a genetic autosomal disorder which effects the brain. It affects about 1 in 20,000 individuals. The symptoms of the disease do not start to occur until after or around 40 years of age. With the onset of the disease the patient starts to gradually deteriorate intellectually, this deterioration also causes involuntary movements. Scientists have only recently found the section of the gene which causes Huntington's disease, and this is allowed them to devise pre-symptomatic tests. However, a cure for the disease is yet to be found.

Huntington's Disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant, progressive, neurodegenerative disorder (Walker, 2007 and Harmon, 2007). The gene that causes the disease is located on the fourth chromosome and causes an abnormal number of repeats in the patient's genetic code (Harmon, 2007). Huntington's Disease can have devastating effects on patients' quality of life. The first symptoms of HD generally start between the ages of 30 and 45 and patients are typically asymptomatic prior to this time (Terrenoire, 1992 and Walker, 2007). However, the disease progresses with subtle changes in motor control, personality, and cognition. Patients eventually develop distinct

Huntington's Disease is a devastating and progressive neurological disorder that resu lts primarily from degeneration of nerve cells deep in the center of the brain. The condition was first described by George Huntington, a physician in New York, in 1872. Even then, the physician recognized the all-encompassing factors of the disorder when describing it as, "coming on gradually but surely, increasing by degrees, and often occupying years in its development until the hapless sufferer is but a quivering wreck of his former self".

2. “What Is Huntington's Disease?” Huntington’s Disease Society of America What Is HD, Huntington's Disease Society of America, hdsa.org/what-is-hd/.

Huntington's disease is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder. It is passed on to children from one or both parents (though two parents with Huntington's is extraordinarily rare) in an autosomal dominant manner. This is different from autosomal recessive disorder, which requires two altered genes (one from each parent) to inherit the disorder.

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.

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!

About 13 years ago while at a golf course with my father, we crossed paths with an old college friend of his that he had not seen in quite some time. The middle age man approached us with what appeared to be a stuttering step and as I reached out to shake his hand, I remember noticing his arms jerk involuntarily as his hand stretched out to meet mine. He introduced himself and began reminiscing with my father. I remember being fascinated by how proper and elegant he spoke. As they parted ways, my father turned to me and before I could ask he said “my friend has Huntington disease.”