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Huntington’s
disease
(HD) is
a hereditary
degenerative
brain disorder.
As the
disease
progresses,
it causes
involuntary
movements
(chorea)
and slowly
diminishes
the person’s
ability
to walk,
talk and
move effectively.
The disease
also affects
the person’s
ability
to think
and reason.
Many other symptoms take
a toll
on HD patients
and their
families.
Because
the disease
is hereditary,
only those
individuals
with a
direct
family
history
of the
disease
can inherit
the gene
responsible
for Huntington’s
disease
(although
rare spontaneous
mutations
have been
reported).
The disease
affects
approximately
4 to 8
per 100,000
people
in the
US. The
onset of
the disease
usually
occurs
between
the ages
of 35 and
55. In
very rare
cases children
as young
as two
years of
age and
people
as old
as 80 have
shown symptoms
of the
disease.
Approximately
an equal
number
of men
and women
are affected
by the
disease. From
a hereditary
perspective,
a child
with one
parent
who has
the disease
has a 50%
chance
of inheriting
the gene
that causes
the disorder.
Worldwide,
hundreds
of thousands
of people
are at
risk of
developing
the disease.
In most
cases,
a straightforward
genetic
test can
conclusively
prove whether
a person
has the
gene. Most
people
at risk
for having
inherited
the gene,
however,
choose
not to
undergo
the test,
preferring
not to
know because
there is
at present
no cure
for the
disease. .
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