Morgan Huntingtons Disease April 14, 2014 Huntingtons disease (HD) is a Mendelian genetic disease which means that

it is passed down to a child from a parent due to a mutation in the gene. This is a degenerative disorder of the brain and it causes some nerve cells in the brain to whither or waste away and because of that it causes mental, physical, and emotional changes. You contract this disease from one of your parents who carries this gene in their DNA and then passes it on to you. If one parent has them it is a 50/50 chance their children will have it as well. HD is also described as an autosomal dominant disorder because you only need one copy of the infected gene which you would inherit from one parent in order for the disease to be produced. Also, if the child ends up never having HD then they did not inherit the gene and their children will not have it either. On a normal gene the DNA has a sequence of CAG. People who have HD will have multiple repeats of this one sequence over and over. This disease is most common in adults about middle age but there are some rare juvenile cases and people who end up with it that young end up dying quicker within 5 to 10 years of contracting it. Most people that are over the age of 20 will die within 10-30 years. However, the progression of the disease usually depends on the age and varies from person to person. Patients suffering from HD will experience symptoms that will affect just about every aspect of their life; mind, movement, and psyche. The following are a few cognitive disorders a person with Huntingtons Disease would suffer from: difficulty in learning, judgment, memory, answering a question, thinking of something to say, making a choice or decision, difficulty concentrating, it becomes harder to focus on tasks for a long period of time, act or speak without thinking first, dont start conversations, and it is hard to plan or organize anything. Almost all of their physical abilities are affected because of this disease. They tend to have involuntary movements, may jerk around, have random muscle contractions (also known as dystonia), their movements become uncoordinated and begin to slow down, posture and balance begin to go downhill, the movement of ones eyes begins to slow down, difficulty swallowing, and it is harder for them to talk as well and their speech may become slurred, and it may even become difficult for the person to walk or balance. Clumsiness is usually seen and falls occur as a result. Another symptom you can see in HD patients is a change in their psyche; they will have mood swings characterized as irritable, depressed, anxiety, and usually angriness. They may experience insomnia, loss of interest in activities they used to be involved in, sadness, they withdrawal themselves from the world or social circles, loss of energy, tired, fatigue, appetite begins to change, may think of suicide, easily distracted, and may feel guilt due to being sick. Sometimes they will also contract psychiatric disorders such as OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), Mania (an impulsive behavior), and/or bipolar disorder. All of these symptoms occur due to the

Morgan Huntingtons Disease April 14, 2014 degeneration of the brain and the nerve cells in your brain affect how you move and feel so if they are destroyed it will also destroy you (which is where all these symptoms come from). To diagnose a patient with Huntingtons disease a neurologist will interview them to get all their medical history and just observe their actions. They might use tools such as pedigree or genealogy to diagnose as well they are simply used to take family medical history. They may ask you about any problems you are having emotionally, and do a variety of tests regarding your eyesight, hearing, coordination, reflexes, balance, strength, and your mental status. Some physicians may use a blood sample test which analyzes your DNA and counts the number of repeats in a region where HD would be seen. Sometimes but not usually a CT scan or MRI may be performed to look for any shrinking or swelling of parts of the brain. There is no cure for HD; there is no treatment to reverse or stop the disease. However, many prescribe a different amount of medications to control many problems associated with Huntingtons. Many suggest getting a psychologist or psychiatrist for support. Also it is strongly recommend that you see a neurologist so that you can better understand the disease, what to do to cope, and know why it is happening. Exercise is encouraged to help with coping as well. Many fluids are required due to how easy it is to become dehydrated and food cut into small pieces is necessary because they could choke. The overall prognosis for Huntingtons disease is not good. People die within 10-30 of contracting the disease. Almost all of their physical abilities are stripped away, they begin to lose all their mental abilities as well sooner or later, and they dont have much of a social life as well. It becomes easier for them to hurt themselves or others and they must depend on someone else to help them later as the disease worsens. Many cannot live a normal life because they are unable to do a bunch of things on their own like walk, talk, eat, and much more. By the end they will require help with every activity they do for their daily life and care.

Citations
"Huntington's Disease Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment - MedicineNet." MedicineNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014

Morgan Huntingtons Disease April 14, 2014

"NINDS Huntington's Disease Information Page." Huntington's Disease Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

"Huntington's Disease." Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. "Huntington's Disease." : Symptoms, Treatment, and Hope. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. " Huntington's Disease Society of America. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.