Huntington's+Disease-Dionise+K

=Huntington’s Disease =

**Description: ** Huntington’s disease is a brain disorder. It works to destroy the cells in the brain and can affect a person’s ability to talk, think and move. People diagnosed with the Huntington’s disease are said to have a high number of the DNA sequence “CAG.” A person carrying the disease will have 40 or more CAG triplets while a normal person only has 10 to 26. At least Twenty-five percent of the patients’ brain cells are lost before dying.

**Inheritance: ** Huntington’s Disease is passed down genetically. It is autosomal. A parent that has the disease contains a fifty percent chance of passing it down to their children.

**Pedigree Chart: **

**Symptoms: ** The symptoms begin to appear between the ages of 30 and 50. For some people it appears earlier and for others it appears later. Some symptoms of the Huntington’s Disease are poor memory, depression, mood swings, twitching, uncontrolled movements, and difficulties with walking, speaking, and swallowing.

**Diagnosis: ** For pregnant women, the disease is diagnosed through tests such as sample of fluids from around the fetus and a sample of fetal cells from the placenta. To diagnose the disease for new born babies, neurological and psychological tests are done. The age a person will begin to get sick cannot be determined.

**Treatment: ** Treatments can’t slow down the disease; however, physical and speech therapies and medications can ease anxiety and mood swings. It also helps with uncontrolled movements and allows the patients to become more comfortable and live normal lives.

**Interesting Facts: ** *Huntington’s disease was named after Dr. George Huntington, who was the first to describe the disease in 1872. *1 in every 30,000 people in the United States has Huntington’s Disease. *Children who develop the disease are most likely to not live to adulthood. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">*Huntington’s disease can affect a person physically, emotionally, socially and economically. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">* A person with the HD disease eventually becomes completely dependent others for help and care. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">*There is no cure for the disease, however treatments and medications are available for depression and uncontrolled movements.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">-Huntington’s Disease Society of America
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