The Effects Of Huntington's Disease

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 hereditary brain disorder that affects people all over the world. If your parent has this disease, there is a fifty-percent chance that you will develop it at some point in your life. Huntington’s disease is caused by a defect in the dominate gene called huntingtin. This defect is caused by a part of DNA called CAG repeat. Normally the huntingtin gene is repeated about ten to twenty-eight times, and plays a major role in brain development. When a person has Huntington’s disease the huntingtin disease repeats anywhere from 36 to 120 times. When the gene repeats this much the elongated proteins separate into smaller pieces and collect neutrons, disrupting the normal cell function. This effects the parts of the brain

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!

Etiology: Huntington’s disease (HD) is progressive and causes nerve cells to break down within the brain (Huntington’s Disease Society of America, 2015). HD is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder therefore, if one parent has it, there is a 50/50 chance a child will inherit the gene (World Health Organization, 2015). Today, scientists are still working to find out more information about this genetic condition.

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".

Huntington's disease is an autosomal dominant disorder, which is found on the # 4 chromosome. George Huntington discovered it in 1872. It mainly has an effect on the nervous system. There are around 210,000 bases between D4S180 and D4S127. The disease itself is found in 2% of people in their childhood, and in 5% of the people they were older then 60. (Miller p 16) In the majority of the affected people the disease is detected between the ages of 35-45. In males the disease begins around the time of their childhood. However, in females it begins later in life. This severe symptom has a tendency for the condition to worsen as it is passed on from generation to generation. Huntington’s disease is paternally

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 a degenerative neurological disorder affecting movement, cognition, and emotional state (Schoenstadt). There are two forms of Huntington’s disease (Sheth). The most common is adult-onset Huntington’s disease, with persons usually developing symptoms in their middle 30s and 40s (Sheth). There is an early onset form of Huntington’s disease, beginning in childhood or adolescence, and makes up a small percentage of the Huntington’s population (Sheth). Huntington’s disease is a genetic disorder with a short history, a plethora of symptoms, and devastating consequences, with no current cure in sight.

Many of you may not know much about Huntington’s disease. After reading this paper and the subsequent ones to come, you surely will. According to PudMedHealth.com, “Huntington’s disease is a disorder passed down through families in which nerve cells in certain parts of the brain waste away or degenerate.” This can lead to many different complications to a person’s health. In most cases, the disease’s symptoms develop later in life during a person’s mid thirties-forties. There are also instances where the disease becomes on-set in children or during adolescence. The question that I am writing about is the disease itself ,and which symptoms affect you the worst. The reason I chose to write about this disease is because I have always been

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