Huntington's+Disease-Brielle+Clarke

Huntington’s Disease (HD)

Huntington’s Disease is a bran disorder where the disease destroys the cells in the basal ganglia, the part of the brain that controls movement, emotion, and cognitive ability. Mutations in a gene on chromosome 4 are how HD is caused. HD patient’s brain cells accumulate clump of protein that become toxic, causing cell death.
 * Description: **


 * Inheritance: **

Huntington’s Disease is autosomal. Everyone that inherits the gene will get the disease eventually. Someone with a mutation in the Huntington’s Disease gene has a 50% chance of giving it to their children.


 * Punnett Square: **

The disease gets worse over time but most people start to see the symptoms between ages 30 and 50. Poor memory, mood swings, depression, lack of coordination, twitching or other uncontrolled moments, and difficulty, walking, speaking, and swallowing are some of the symptoms.
 * Symptoms: **

A woman can find out if her baby has the disease during pregnancy with two tests: taking a sample of fetal cells from the placenta, or taking a sample of fluid from around the fetus. Doctors can identify the disease when a child is born by doing a bunch of neurological and physical tests. However, the tests cannot tell what age the person will get sick.
 * Diagnosis: **

Medications that ease feelings of anxiety and depression and physical or speech therapy helps patients lead more normal lives. These treatments don’t slow the disease down, they can help the patient be more comfortable though.
 * Medication: **

Huntington’s disease was named after Dr. George Huntington, he first described the disease in 1872. 1 in 30,000 people in the U.S. has the disease.
 * Interesting Facts: **

media type="custom" key="9656768" Huntington’s Disease Society of America.
 * Support Groups: **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/disorders/whataregd/
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sources: **