Treatment

Unfortunately, there is no cure to Huntington’s disease. The disease is unpreventable, however progress has been made in the last 10-15 years. Doctors treat the symptoms instead of the disease itself. Anti-Depressants are given to a patient who shows the signs of depression. A new drug just released by the FDA in august 2008 shows promising results to patients with a chronic case of the disease. The drug is called Tetrabenazine (xenazine). It is supposed to suppress the involuntary movements presented in Huntington’s patients. These patients may have a “peace of mind” if their involuntary movements decrease. These drugs do not stop the mental deterioration. However, they alleviate discomfort and depression. This can make the patients easier to manage.Although Huntington’s disease is pretty rare, it is important to acknowledge it. These people’s brain cells die causing them to have no control of their movements this is the disease at work.

Diagnosing+Symptoms

Diagnosing HD is as simple as taking a blood test. The genetic marker for HD was found in 1983. With the marker present in a blood sample, the chances of getting the disease are tripled. Patients with the disease present symptoms such as uncontrollable jerking movements of the limbs, trunk, face, loss of mental abilities and voluntary motor control.Patients with HD are known to be irritable. This is because the disease affects their emotions. Many patients suffer from dementia and depression. After a person shows such symptoms, it is easy to determine weather they have the disease after a blood test.Ok this video is pretty sad to watch but this is people with the disease and how it affects them.

Statistics

One in 30,000 people in the United States have the disease. A person has a 50% chance of inheriting the disease from their parent’s defective chromosomes at birth .A 50% chance does not mean that exactly half the children in a family will get the disease. This means each individual has their own 50% chance of acquiring the disease.The disease also may skip a generation. The average life span after the disease begins to progress is usually 16 years after diagnosis

Huntington’s Disease

What is it?
It is a hereditary brain disorder which results in the destruction of brain cells. This disease is caused by a genetic defect which is passed down from generation to generation. The degeneration of brain cells is the cause of the symptoms of Huntington’s and can force someone to lose his/her personality, and ultimately their life. George Huntington was the first person to address the disease, at the Academy of Medicine at Middleport, Ohio in 1872. George Huntington’s Studies were way ahead of his time and noticed many things that made this disease Unique. One of the things he noticed was the diseases hereditary nature, meaning that it is unlikely to get the disease unless a relative has it. He noticed that the patients with the disease had tendency to insanity and suicide.As you can see the Brain on the right is of a normal person, while the brain on the left is a MRI photo of a patient with Huntington’s disease. There is a clear difference in the two. The one on the left looks like there is part of the brain missing.