What is it?
A genetic neurological disorder associated with abnormal body movements, limb jerking, and poor coordination. It also adversely affects memory and some aspects of behavior. It was named after George Huntington, an American physician who had given the precise description of this condition following the works of his father and grandfather. It usually appears in the 3rd or 4th decade of life. It is a defect in the 4th chromosome.
Type of Genetic disorder It is dominant.
It is not sex-linked
What are some symptomes?
Early symptoms are:
irritability, apathetic, passiveness, depression, uncontrollable movements, memory loss, or anger.
George Huntington
HD Brain
Later symptoms include:
Clumsiness, Jaw clenching (bruxism), Loss of coordination and balance, Slurred speech, Swallowing and/or eating difficulty, Uncontrolled continual muscular contractions, Walking difficulty, stumbling, falling.
It can intensify when a person is anxious. It can also start with clumsiness or problems with balance. It can reach the point where speech is slured and vital functions such as swallowing, eating, speaking, and especially walking continue to decline Who discovered it?
George Huntington was first to describe the disease as sudden uncontrollable jerky movements. He was born in America and lived from 1850-1916. His father and him both, were doctors.
Statistics:
1 in every 10,000 have it.
30,000 people in the U.S. have it
about 150.000 people are at risk of getting it.
Treatment:
There is not a cure for Huntington's disease yet, people take over-the-counter prescriptions to manage the symtoms.
Famous person with it:
Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Random:
Huntington's disease, also may cause chorea which also creates problems with walking and increasing the likelihood of falls
It usually lasts from 10-30 years.
Seizures occur in 30%-50% of the people who have the disease.
Huntington's Disease
What is it?
A genetic neurological disorder associated with abnormal body movements, limb jerking, and poor coordination. It also adversely affects memory and some aspects of behavior. It was named after George Huntington, an American physician who had given the precise description of this condition following the works of his father and grandfather. It usually appears in the 3rd or 4th decade of life. It is a defect in the 4th chromosome.
Type of Genetic disorder
It is dominant.
It is not sex-linked
What are some symptomes?
Early symptoms are:
irritability, apathetic, passiveness, depression, uncontrollable movements, memory loss, or anger.
Later symptoms include:
Clumsiness, Jaw clenching (bruxism), Loss of coordination and balance, Slurred speech, Swallowing and/or eating difficulty, Uncontrolled continual muscular contractions, Walking difficulty, stumbling, falling.
It can intensify when a person is anxious. It can also start with clumsiness or problems with balance. It can reach the point where speech is slured and vital functions such as swallowing, eating, speaking, and especially walking continue to decline
Who discovered it?
George Huntington was first to describe the disease as sudden uncontrollable jerky movements. He was born in America and lived from 1850-1916. His father and him both, were doctors.
Statistics:
1 in every 10,000 have it.
30,000 people in the U.S. have it
about 150.000 people are at risk of getting it.
Treatment:
There is not a cure for Huntington's disease yet, people take over-the-counter prescriptions to manage the symtoms.
Famous person with it:
Woody Guthrie
Random:
Huntington's disease, also may cause chorea which also creates problems with walking and increasing the likelihood of falls
It usually lasts from 10-30 years.
Seizures occur in 30%-50% of the people who have the disease.
Sources:
http://nervous-system.emedtv.com/huntington's-disease/huntington's-disease-statistics-p2.htmlhttp://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/huntingtonhttp://www.lkwdpl.org/HDSA/conomy.htmn/huntington.htm
http://alzheimers.about.com/od/typesofdementia/a/huntington_dise.htm
http://hopes.stanford.edu/basics/timeline/f_r12_georgehuntinton.jpg
http://www.neurologychannel.com/huntingtons/index.shtml
http://www.uic.edu/depts/mcne/founders/page0048.html
http://www.kumc.edu/hospital/huntingtons/genetics.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3210/images/02-cure-huntington.jpg