Jessica+M.

**What is Huntington's Disease?** Huntington's disease is resulted from a genetically degeneration of the brain's nerve cells. It is commonly known as Huntington's chorea and/or HD.

**How do I get Huntington's Disease?** There is two ways of getting Huntington’s chorea. The first way is having one parent with the disease, which gives the child or children 50-50 chance of getting Huntington’s chorea. Because only one parent has the disease, it makes it an autosomal dominate disease. In Huntington’s disease, the abnormal gene is only passed from one parent to his or hers offspring. Chromosome four is the chromosome that has been altered. The second way of getting HD is from a genetic mutation of the person’s father’s sperm. But this case if very uncommon. It only occurs in about one to three percent of people. media type="youtube" key="KsW0uqS72EE" height="344" width="425" **What are the clinical descriptions of Huntington's Disease?** Some of the following symptoms can be notices by your family members before you are aware of them.

Children with HD may develop similar symptoms to Parkinson's Disease (muscle rigidity, tremors, slow movement and seizures). Anyone with the faulty gene will eventually delevop HD, if they live long enough. Some may see the symptoms sooner or later than others with HD. Normally signs are noticed during the middle ages, between the ages of 30 and 50. Because signs and symptoms first appear in the middle ages, the parents already could have passed it onto their children without even knowing it. But may be seen in younger people as well. No matter what age a person is with HD, it is fatal. After someone is diagnosed with HD, their life expectancy is 10 to 30 years after signs first appear. Huntington's disease occurs in about one in every 10,000 people. HD can occur in anybody; any ethic group, all races, and both sex.
 * Muscle weakness, slowness, or incoordination of the lips, tongue, throat, and jaw
 * Disruption in programming and sequencing muscle movements for speech
 * Talking too fast or too slowly
 * Hoarse/harsh, breathy, volume too low or too high voice [[image:HD.gif align="right"]]
 * Problems coordinating breathing and voice
 * Word-finding difficulties
 * Person only responds with one or two words
 * Incorrect pronunciation of sounds
 * Problems initiating conversation
 * Stuttering
 * repeating statements
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Turn-taking in conversation
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Inability to speak
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Difficulty understanding information
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Difficulty reading and writing
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Diminished short-term memory
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Poor reasoning and judgement
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Reduced problem-solving ability
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Concentration problems
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Ability to learn new thing is diminished
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Difficulty organizing ideas
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Problems with numbers
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Swallowing problems
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Dementia

HD is incurable. There isn't a real treatment, but your doctor can give you medicine to control the signs and symptoms of HD. But the treatments can't prevent the physical and mental decline. Doctors have yet to find a cure for HD, but they are still looking since they know which chromosome it is on, it will be easier to find a cure.
 * How can I get treated for Huntington's disease?**


 * Are there any support groups for Huntington's disease?**
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA)
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Huntington's Disease Association
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Huntington's Disease Advvocacy Center (online support)
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Huntington's Disease Support Club
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">University of Iowa Hospitle and Clinic

<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">**Resources:** [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []