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What is Huntington's Disease (HD)?
- A devastating, degenerative brain disorder for which there is - at present - no effective treatment or cure.
- HD slowly diminishes the affected individual's ability to walk, think, talk and reason.
- Eventually, a person with HD becomes totally dependent upon others for his or her care.
- Huntington's Disease profoundly affects the lives of entire families: emotionally, socially and economically.
- HD is now recognized as one of the more common genetic disorders.
- More than a quarter of a million Americans have HD or are "at risk" of inheriting the disease from an affected parent.
- HD affects as many people as Hemophilia, Cystic Fibrosis or muscular dystrophy.
- Early symptoms of Huntington's Disease may affect cognitive ability or mobility and include depression, mood swings, forgetfulness, clumsiness, involuntary twitching and lack of coordination.
- As the disease progresses, concentration and short-term memory diminish and involuntary movements of the head, trunk and limbs increase.
- Walking, speaking and swallowing abilities deteriorate.
- Eventually the person is unable to care for him or herself.
- Death follows from complications such as choking, infection or heart failure.
- HD typically begins in mid-life, between the ages of 30 and 45, though onset may occur as early as the age of 2.
- Children who develop the juvenile form of the disease rarely live to adulthood.
- HD affects males and females equally and crosses all ethnic and racial boundaries.
- Each child of a person with HD has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the fatal gene. Everyone who carries the gene will develop the disease.
- In 1993, the HD gene was isolated and a direct genetic test developed which can accurately determine whether a person carries the HD gene. The test cannot predict when symptoms will begin. However, in the absence of a cure, many individuals "at risk" elect not to take the test.
- Because HD produces symptoms similar to other diseases such as Alzheimer’s, MS or Parkinson’s, the research into a cure for Huntington’s could lead to breakthroughs for many other inherited diseases.
- Additional resources and information available at the Huntington's Disease Society of America web site: www.hdsa.org.
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