Huntington’s Disease
Huntington’s disease is an inherited disease that causes degeneration of brain cells. It is a complex disease that affects specific areas in the brain, one particular is the the motor area. The degeneration of brain cells is caused from a genetic mutation in DNA during DNA synthesis. The defect causes cytosine, adenine, and guanine (CAG) to repeat over and over again in DNA sequencing. With each generation that develops HD the mutation may expand further causing more CAG sequencing in future generations. Currently there isn’t any way of determining if the mutation will be passed on, but each child born from a parent who has Huntington’s disease is at risk of inheriting the gene by 50%. A very small percentage (1-3%) of people diagnosed …show more content…
More than 30,000 Americans live with Huntington’s disease and another 150,000 are at risk for developing it. Identification of the gene responsible for HD was first discovered in 1993, but the disease had been documented for hundreds of years before. George Huntington was the first to identify the disease as being hereditary in 1872.
Most people are middle age at the time of onset of the disease, but there are “early-onset” cases of the disease that develops before the age of 20 years old. The earlier the onset of the disease the more rapid the progression is. Patient with early onset Huntington’s disease usually develop a rapid decline in school performance, seizures, mental disabilities, and progression usually leads to death within 10 years of diagnosis.
Huntington’s disease is diagnosed by family history, medical history, and clinical manifestation of signs and symptoms. Computed tomography and MRI can be used to identify brain structures that may have decreased in size in patients who have developed HD. An individual test can’t be used alone to diagnose HD, rather a combination of gathered information, and report of signs and
Huntington’s disease is an inherited disease that causes degeneration of brain cells. It is a complex disease that affects specific areas in the brain, one particular is the the motor area. The degeneration of brain cells is caused from a genetic mutation in DNA during DNA synthesis. The defect causes cytosine, adenine, and guanine (CAG) to repeat over and over again in DNA sequencing. With each generation that develops HD the mutation may expand further causing more CAG sequencing in future generations. Currently there isn’t any way of determining if the mutation will be passed on, but each child born from a parent who has Huntington’s disease is at risk of inheriting the gene by 50%. A very small percentage (1-3%) of people diagnosed …show more content…
More than 30,000 Americans live with Huntington’s disease and another 150,000 are at risk for developing it. Identification of the gene responsible for HD was first discovered in 1993, but the disease had been documented for hundreds of years before. George Huntington was the first to identify the disease as being hereditary in 1872.
Most people are middle age at the time of onset of the disease, but there are “early-onset” cases of the disease that develops before the age of 20 years old. The earlier the onset of the disease the more rapid the progression is. Patient with early onset Huntington’s disease usually develop a rapid decline in school performance, seizures, mental disabilities, and progression usually leads to death within 10 years of diagnosis.
Huntington’s disease is diagnosed by family history, medical history, and clinical manifestation of signs and symptoms. Computed tomography and MRI can be used to identify brain structures that may have decreased in size in patients who have developed HD. An individual test can’t be used alone to diagnose HD, rather a combination of gathered information, and report of signs and