Although anyone can develop HD, it tends to run in people of European descent (having family members who came from Europe). But the main factor is whether you have a parent with HD. If you do, you have a 50% chance of also having the disease.
Each child of a parent with HD has a 50 percent chance of inheriting the HD gene. A child who does not inherit the HD gene will not develop the disease, and generally, they cannot pass it on to their children or other future generations.
Myth 1: HD is a male disease. Fact: Both men and women can be born with the HD gene.
Symptoms of Huntington's disease usually develop between ages 30 and 50, but they can appear as early as age 2 or as late as 80. The hallmark symptom of Huntington's disease is uncontrolled movement of the arms, legs, head, face and upper body.
For individuals who are at risk of carrying the HD gene, testing can be performed before symptoms occur. Information from brain scans such as computed tomography (CT), electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be part (magnetic resonance imaging) and may be reviewed as part of the diagnosis.
Familial prion disease may produce a diverse range of phenotypes, even within the same pedigree. It may resemble HD with prominent personality change, psychiatric symptoms and cognitive decline, chorea, rigidity, and dysarthria. Limb and truncal ataxia and seizures may be present.
Huntington's disease is a condition that damages nerve cells in the brain causing them to stop working properly. It's passed on (inherited) from a person's parents. The damage to the brain gets worse over time. It can affect movement, cognition (perception, awareness, thinking, judgement) and mental health.
After Huntington's disease starts, a person's functional abilities gradually worsen over time. The rate of disease progression and duration varies. The time from the first symptoms to death is often about 10 to 30 years. Juvenile Huntington's disease usually results in death within 10 years after symptoms develop.
The most painful conditions in Huntington's, said Achterberg, are limb pain, headache, abdominal pain and fractures. “I think we should do more work in validation of pain tools, including observational pain instruments,” he said. “And for clinicians, I suggest you be especially aware of abdominal pain.”
An affected person usually inherits the altered gene from one affected parent. In rare cases, an individual with Huntington disease does not have a parent with the disorder.
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.
Both men and women can get it. If a parent has the Huntington's disease gene, there's a: 1 in 2 (50%) chance of each of their children developing the condition – affected children are also able to pass the gene to any children they have.
Prevention of Huntington's disease
Because Huntington's is a genetic disease, you can't do anything to prevent it if you have inherited it. If you have a history of Huntington's disease in your family, you may wish to have genetic counseling before having children of your own.
Typical age at onset of symptoms is in the 40s1. The cause is a gene mutation in chromosome 4 with a CAG trinucleotide repeat of 35 or greater2. Repeat size can expand or contract with the next generation.
Symptoms typically emerge from age 30 to 50, but also can develop in children and older adults. Late-onset Huntington's, characterized by some as emerging after age 5o and others after age 60, is thought to be less severe than earlier onset Huntington's.
Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. It deteriorates a person's physical and mental abilities usually during their prime working years and has no cure.
Huntington's disease is currently found in many different countries and ethnic groups around the world. The highest frequencies of HD are found in Europe and countries of European origin, such as the United States and Australia. The lowest documented frequencies of HD are found in Africa, China, Japan, and Finland.
For example, if a child's grandparent has Huntington's disease, but the child's at-risk parent hasn't been tested, then the child has a 25% probability of having inherited the gene. If the parent doesn't have the expanded gene, then the risk drops from 25% to 0% - meaning there is no risk at all to the child.
Currently, there are no treatments available for Huntington's disease that change the course of the disease.
A blood test to check for the Huntington's disease gene can confirm if you have the condition.
Medical imaging techniques, such as computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can reveal atrophy of the caudate nuclei, which is observed in the early stages of Huntington's disease.