huntington's disease…

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huntington chorea, huntington's disease, inherited condition characterized by abnormal body movements, dementia, psychiatric problems, huntington's disease, progressive disorder involving wasting, degeneration, nerve cells, in the brain, disorder was first described in 1872 by george huntington, an american physician, huntington's disease is inherited, a single faulty gene on chromosome #4, the gene that is repeated in multiple copies, greater the number of repeats, the person, develop symptoms, greater the chance they, occur at a younger age, occur earlier, severely in each succeeding affected generation, the number of repeats, increase, every child of a parent, the disorder has a 50% chance of inheriting huntington's disease, appear, adulthood, between ages 35, again, onset depends on the number of repeats found, in the gene, appear in younger people, in children it, resemble parkinson's disease, rigidity, slow movements, tremor, progressive loss of mental function, personality changes, loss of cognitive functions judgment, speech, abnormal facial, body movements develop, quick jerking movements, term chorea means "dance", refers, typical movements that develop, behavior changes, irritability, moodiness, restlessness, fidgeting, antisocial behaviors, psychosis, paranoia, hallucinations, facial movements, grimaces, turn head to shift the gaze, progressive dementia, loss of memory, loss of judgment, speech changes, loss of other functions, calculating, personality changes, disorientation, confusion, unsteady gait, progressive development of abnormal, choreiform, movements, quick, sudden, jerking movements of arms, legs, face, trunk, movement, unpredictable, jerky, movement, uncontrolled, slow, additional symptoms that associated, speech impairment, anxiety, stress, tension, difficulty swallowing, in children, slow movements, tremor, rigidity, examination, indicate progressive dementia, choreiform, chorea-like, movements, reflexes abnormal, gait, "prancing", wide, speech hesitant, enunciation poor, a head ct scan, atrophy, loss of tissue, of deep brain, caudate, structures, abnormalities, tests, indicate huntington's disease, head mri scan, pet, isotope, scan, the brain, dna marker studies, gene studies that indicate the tendency to develop this disorder, no cure, huntington's disease, no known way to stop progression, the disorder, treatment is aimed at slowing progression, maximizing ability to function, medications vary depending on the symptoms, dopamine blockers haloperidol, phenothiazine medications, reduce abnormal behaviors, movements, reserpine, medications have been used, varying success, drugs, tetrabenazine, amantadine, try to control extra movements, has been some evidence to suggest that co-enzyme q10, minimally decrease progression, psychiatric illness, depression, suicide, common in huntington's disease, the caretaker, physicians who care, huntington's disease to monitor, treat accordingly, symptomatic treatment, the dementia is similar to that used, organic brain syndrome, initially, reminders, aids, improve memory function, progressive need, assistance, supervision, 24-hour care, eventually be required, support groups, huntington's disease, reduce the stress of dealing, difficult diagnosis, its impact on reproductive, life choices, the huntington's disease society of america, local information, hdsa.org/, huntington's disease causes, progressive disability, disorder, fatal, 15 to 20 years, death, infection, suicide is also common, important to realize that not all patients, huntington's disease progress, same pace, equally affected, number of repeats, determine severity, few repeats, have mild abnormal movements later in life, slow disease progression, whereas those, many repeats severely affected at a young age, loss of ability to care, self, loss of ability to interact, injuries to self, increased risk of infections, depression, symptoms of this disorder develop, sudden change in mental status, indicate development of a different disorder, genetic counseling is advised, family history of huntington's disease, dna analysis of multiple family members, the odds that the child of a person, huntington's disease, the disorder, wish to consider adoption, forms of assisted reproduction, reduce the chance that the disease, passed on to children.