Symptoms Of Huntington's Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological brain disorder. Brains have neurotransmitters called dopamine and people with Parkinson’s gradually stop producing it. This causes a decline in in their ability to manage their body movements and emotions. Parkinson is classified in 5 stages and its symptoms are also similar to Lewy Body (“What is Parkinson's”). The four main motor symptoms of Dementia are slowness of movement, also called bradykinesia, involuntary shaking, or tremor at rest, stiffness of arms and legs, trouble with balance and falls, also called postural instability, said by the National Parkinson’s Foundation (“Motor Symptoms”). Huntington's is an inherited disease caused by degenerative cells in your brain and spinal cord. Symptoms greatly affect the person's thinking and movement ability. Other symptoms include behavior changes, memory loss, and sometimes obsessive-compulsive behavior. People develop this disease at the early ages of thier 30’s and 40’s but some can develop it as early as their 20’s this is called juvenile Huntington's Disease (“Huntington’s Disease”). Although this paper has discussed the 6 most common forms of dementia there are a few rarer types called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and Korsakoff'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.

Huntington’s is a fatal progressive disease that is associated with both musculoskeletal and neuromuscular changes which result in abnormal movements, changes in personality, and dementia. Because HD is correlated to chorea, unsteady gait and involuntary random movements, this disease is also known as Huntington’s chorea.¹ This disease has been described as having symptoms associated with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease all at the same time.²

Huntington Disease is a progressive brain disorder which causes uncontrolled movements, loss of thinking ability, and emotional problems. There are two types of Huntington Disease, Adult-onset and Juvenile. Adult-onset is the most common form of Huntington Disease and those diagnosed live about fifteen to twenty years after beginning symptoms. The early signs and symptoms include depression, small involuntary movements, irritability, poor coordination, difficulty in making decisions, and difficulty retaining new information. As it progresses, the involuntary movements become more pronounced causing issue with walking, speaking, thinking, reasoning abilities, and personality changes (1).

Those afflicted with Huntington’s Disease generally begin to exhibit problems with their “control of bodily movements, intellectual functioning and emotion(s)” (Fact Sheet: Huntington’s Disease). The disease generally begins to affect the individual around the age of fifty, though it can occur much earlier. The victim will usually suffer for ten to twenty-five years before succumbing to complications of the illness, generally heart failure or aspiration pneumonia (Fact Sheet: Huntington’s Disease).

Huntington’s disease, also known as Huntington’s chorea, is a rare pathology among the nervous system. With fewer than 200,000 US cases per year is an inherited condition in which nerve cells in the brain break down over a period of time. This disease will usually start to effect people when they are in their 30s or 40s. Huntington’s usually results in psychiatric symptoms, progressive movement and thinking. No cure to this disease exists but physical therapy, drugs, and talk therapy can help manage symptoms.

Diagnosis for Huntington disease is based on your answers to questions, a review of your family medical history, and a general physical exam. A neurologist may perform simple tests to check memory, reasoning, mental

Huntington’s Disease is a rare autosomal disease that first originated in northern Europe. It is a progressive degenerative disease that affects about every 5 in 100,000 people. The offspring of the parent who has suffered from this disease has a 50% chance of inheriting Huntington’s disease as well. Symptoms usually being around the age of 35-40 years of age. Huntington’s Disease symptoms begin gradually, but with detrimental effects. In the beginning stages of Huntington’s Disease symptoms include personality changes such as depression and a short temper, restlessness, and choreiform. Choreiform is involuntary moment that is rapid and repeated many times.

Huntington’s disease is a chronic and fatal neurological disorder caused by a trinucleotide repeat. It is caused by a genetic defect on chromosome four that causes a CAG repeat. When the number of repeats exceeds a certain amount, a neurological disease results. In a normal person, this section of DNA is repeated 10 to 35 times, but in a person with Huntington’s disease it is repeated 36 to 120 times. The disease is genetic and is passed down in families. If one parent has Huntington’s disease offspring have a 50% chance of getting the disease. The average age of onset is 40 years and the disease progresses over 10 to 25 years.

Huntington’s is a hereditary disease. A crucial part of the diagnosis process is to take a family history. The most efficient way to determine if the individual has this disease would be a DNA determination, showing a CAG repeat of at least 36 on the huntingtin gene that is located on chromosome 4. In most cases, the three main signs of this disease is present in the individuals. More studies are known to use biomarkers to determine the parameter’s as well. More studies are starting to focus on changes in function and changes in the brain images by the use of an MRI. Earlier we stated on how a prominent sign of this disease would be motor dysfunctions, such as chorea. Chorea is due to neurological damage in the brain resulting in altered gait.

Having Huntington's disease if very serious and over time can kill you. Huntington's disease is where your nerve cells in your brain slowly start to die off. When lots of your nerve cells die you get chorea. You’ll have random jerks in movement on the face, arms, neck. You will have a loss of mental function as well. This disease is genetically passed down too. The major cause is the abnormal huntingtin (mHtt) with more than 36 glutamine residues. The mHTT gene gives instructions for creating a protein called huntingtin. The gene's role is in the nerve cells in the brain. The symptoms of Huntington’s disease occur in personality, behavior and mental function. Common symptoms are hallucinations, depression, being irritable, not being able to remember, uncontrolled jerking movements. and loss of balance.

For the mass majority of people who contract his disease, these symptoms will begin appearing when they are between thirty-five to fifty years of age (Porter 783). The early stage of Huntington’s is associated with the motor and movement part of the symptoms. Inconspicuous muscle jerks will begin, but will be almost unnoticeable, since they can easily be covered up or mistaken for something insignificant. Yet, as time goes on, they will become more and more obvious, as the person begins to do things like walk in a puppet-like or tilting way, and having less control over their hold. They will also begin to blink, grimace, and flick the limbs more often, becoming thoroughly uncoordinated (Porter 783). Then, their throat muscles will also begin to spasm, making it difficult for them to speak or swallow (The Gale). Eventually, the harsh and sad reality of this disease will be that even things like sitting still, speaking, dressing, and eating will become difficult tasks to accomplish independently (Porter 783).

Huntington’s disease causes the breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. It affects the nervous system and is hereditary. As an Autosomal Dominant disorder, it only needs one copy of a faulty gene to develop the disorder. It has been assessed that Huntington’s disease influences around 10.6 and 13.7 for each 100,000 people in the European society. In the American society, 1 in 10,000 will have the disease and furthermore approximately 150,000 Americans also have the 50% chance of developing the illness. It is very common in European descent, however appears to be uncommon in Asian populations. This report will explain how it is caused, the signs and symptoms and how it affects an individual, furthermore it will be explaining

Early symptoms of the disease are usually subtle in presentation and are often misdiagnosed in the early stage of the disease. The symptomology includes alterations of personality, mood or mental capabilities. People affected by Huntington’s disease gradually exhibit a lack of coordination followed by an unsteady posture and gait resulting in the inability to even stand still. This behavior could mimic other diseases such as a stroke, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson’s disease. (Alz.org, 2016) As the disease progresses the physical effects on the body become more apparent and pronounced. This includes a decreased ability to walk or talk. Movements become jerky and uncoordinated making even the smallest tasks such as buttoning a shirt, nearly impossible.

Late stage. In this stage, people with Huntington's must depend on others for their care. Walking and speaking is very difficudlt, it might not be possible, Most likely the individual will still be aware of loved ones around them. Fidgety movements may become