About Huntington's Disease:
- It is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that changes brain functioning over time.
- It is a rare hereditary disorder in which brain cells, or neurons, in certain areas of brain start to break down.
- The destruction of nerve cells happens in the basal ganglia, or the region of brain that regulates your body’s movements.
- It also affects the brain cortex (surface of your brain) that regulates thinking, decision-making, and memory.
- As the neurons degenerate, the disease can lead to emotional disturbances, loss of intellectual abilities, and uncontrolled movements.
- What causes HD?
- A genetic mutation of the HTT gene causes HD. If one of the parents has HD, a child has a 50% chance of also developing it.
- The HTT gene makes a protein called huntingtin. The exact function of this protein is not yet known, but researchers believe it plays a role in supporting the function of nerve cells in the brain.
- If a person has HD, his/her DNA doesn’t have all the information needed to make the huntingtin protein.
- As a result, these proteins grow in an abnormal shape and destroy neurons.
- How common is HD?
- HD affects an estimated 3 to 7 out of every 100,000 people, most often people of European ancestry (biological family comes from European descent).
- Symptoms:
- HD symptoms can begin at any age but usually first appear between the ages of 30 and 50 years.
- About 5-10% of people have symptoms before age 20 (Juvenile HD) and 10% have onset after age 60 (late onset).
- Treatment:
- There is no cure for HD.
- Medicines can help manage some of the symptoms, but cannot slow down or stop the disease.
- People usually die from the disease within 15 to 20 years of developing symptoms.
