Understanding Huntington’s Disease
Huntington’s disease is a rare, progressive disorder that causes the nerve cells of the brain to degenerate and waste away. As a result, the patient experiences uncontrolled actions, emotional instability and mental weakening.
Huntington’s disease is inherited. A parent with the disease has a 50% chance of passing it on to their children. Children with the disease usually experience more severe cases and their symptoms progress more quickly. The signs and symptoms of Huntington’s disease include personality changes, such as irritability, anger, depression or a loss of interest, decreased cognitive abilities, such as difficulty making decisions, learning new information, answering questions and remembering important information, mild balance problems, clumsiness and involuntary facial movements, such as grimacing. Signs of the disease usually develop during middle age; however they could also develop during childhood.
Later symptoms of Huntington’s disease include sudden jerky, involuntary movements (chorea) throughout your body, severe problems with balance and coordination, jerky, rapid eye movements, hesitant, halting or slurred speech, swallowing problems, and dementia (memory loss). It is important to see a doctor when you experience changes in movement, emotional control or mental ability, as these could be signs of many other conditions as well. If you have a family history of Huntington’s disease, talk to your doctor about genetic testing.
The diagnosis for Huntington’s disease includes a physical exam, an evaluation of your medical history and you family history and an evaluation of any emotional or intellectual changes. If Huntington’s disease is suspected, you will most likely undergo a physical evaluation, have a blood test, computerized tomography (CT) scan, and/or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
Treatment includes speech, physical and occupational therapy and medication.
