Huntington disease

Living with Huntington’s disease is difficult for the person who has the condition, as well as their family and loved ones. Over time, the cognitive impairment can cause you to become more dependent on others and lose awareness of your disease, and your own distress about your condition may decrease as your awareness of your condition declines. • Trouble thinking and problem solving • Mood changes • Hallucinations • Coordination problems • Behavioral and personality changes • Chorea: Involuntary movements of the body, often characterized by smooth and flowing muscle movements • Difficulty with balance • Speech problems • Trouble swallowing • Impaired walking • Nutritional deficits: With Huntington’s disease, you might lose interest in eating, and it can also be more difficult to safely chew and swallow food. You can eventually become deficient in vitamins and minerals and you can also lose weight. These problems also affect your overall health, resulting in lower immunity and problems with healing. • Injuries: With physical imbalance, decreased muscle control, and dementia, the likelihood of falls and other types injuries can be high. • Pressure sores: Lack of mobility can lead to pressure sores on the body, which can also become infected. • Pneumonia:Difficulty swallowing and decreased mobility can increase the risk of pneumonia, including • Infections:Infections can develop as a result of the overall decline in health and as a result of diminished self-care. • Muscle sti...

What is Huntington disease? Huntington disease is a brain disorder in which brain cells, or neurons, in certain areas of your brain start to break down. As the neurons degenerate, the disease can lead to emotional disturbances, loss of intellectual abilities, and uncontrolled movements. Huntington disease has 2 subtypes: • Adult-onset Huntington disease. This is the most common form of Huntington disease. People typically develop the symptoms in their mid-30s and 40s. • Early-onset Huntington disease. In rare instances, children or adolescents will develop the disease. Children with the disease tend to experience abrupt difficulties with schoolwork and often have symptoms that are quite similar to Parkinson disease. What causes Huntington disease? Huntington disease is a genetic disorder. It is passed on from parents to children. If a parent has Huntington disease, the child has a 50% chance of developing it. If the child doesn’t develop the disease, he or she won’t pass it along to his or her children. For 1% to 3% of people with Huntington disease, no family history of the disorder is ever identified. What are the symptoms of Huntington disease? The early symptoms of Huntington disease are often general: • Irritability • Depression • Mood swings • Trouble driving • Trouble learning new things • Forgetting facts • Trouble making decisions As the disease progresses, the following symptoms become more common: • Trouble feeding oneself • Difficulty swallowing • Strange and u...

Many people with Huntington’s disease experience chorea, but they are separate conditions. Chorea is one of several common symptoms of Huntington’s disease, but it has other potential causes. Chorea is a neurological condition that involves involuntary, random, and continuous movement while a person is awake. It can affect the entire body but Chorea is a symptom of several conditions, including Huntington’s disease, which is a rare, inherited disorder. A person has a In the United States, about A person typically develops symptoms aged 30–50 years. Following the onset of symptoms, a person with Huntington’s disease may live for another 15–20 years as the disease progresses. Huntington’s disease is not the same as chorea. Chorea is one of several common symptoms of Huntington’s disease. Other symptoms of Huntington’s disease • impaired judgment • forgetfulness • unsteady gait • difficulty talking • trouble eating and swallowing • depression • changes in personality • mood swings • weight loss Huntington’s disease is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder that an individual can inherit from a parent living with the condition. In other words, people develop symptoms slowly over time as the disease affects the brain. When the effects on the brain are severe enough, a person with Huntington’s disease will start to notice symptoms, which may include uncontrolled muscle movements due to chorea. Chorea occurs when there is overactivity in the basal ganglia, which is the part of...

Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease both involve the central nervous system. As a result, they affect how brain cells work, leading to symptoms such as tremors, limb stiffness, difficulty walking or talking, and cognitive or thinking problems. The medical profession classifies both conditions as neurodegenerative diseases, which is the term for conditions in which an individual’s brain or nerve cells gradually deteriorate. However, although Huntington’s disease is an inherited condition resulting from genetic changes that pass down from parent to child. Conversely, experts believe that a combination of environmental and genetic factors contributes to Parkinson’s disease. This article looks at the similarities and differences between Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease and considers how both conditions compare with Share on Pinterest AlexLinch/Getty Images They both involve a brain structure known as the basal ganglia and can affect an individual’s movement, Common motor symptoms include rigidity and involuntary movements. Rigidity refers to stiffness in the limbs, which makes it challenging to move. The resulting inactivity can cause an individual to experience pain in their muscles and joints. Meanwhile, involuntary movements present as tremors in Parkinson’s and chorea in Huntington’s. Chorea is the term for involuntary, unpredictable, dance-like movements. There is no cure for either condition, and no currently available drugs can modify the disease co...

HD Research Since 1999, the Huntington’s Disease Society of America has committed more than $20 million to fund research, with the goal of finding effective treatments to slow Huntington’s disease. Our research efforts have helped to increase the number of scientists working on HD and have shed light on many of the complex biological mechanisms involved. Healthcare Professional resources This section includes online courses for physicians, social workers and therapists who care for people with HD at the local level. Courses deal with cognitive, physical, therapeutic, technological and legal HD issues among other topics. This section also includes reference materials in video and PDF format for Social Workers on HD issues listed by varied categories. GET INVOLVED When Marjorie Guthrie founded our organization in 1967, her vow was to “do something” about this devastating disease. Today we continue her legacy by bringing together the entire community to provide help and hope to all families affected by Huntington’s disease. Listed here are some of the ways you can get involved in the fight against HD. HDSA CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE NETWORK EXPANDS TO 67 SITES The Huntington’s Disease Society of America is expanding its HDSA Center of Excellence network of comprehensive care clinics with 56 grants totaling more than $2 million. In addition to the 56 grant funded facilities, eleven regional partner sites were also named, ensuring expert HD care at 67 distinct medical facilities in ...