Huntington Disease (HD) is a degenerative brain disorder that is inherited. One of the earlier names for Huntington Disease was choreography, the Greek word for dance. The word chorea describes how people with this disorder would twist, turn constantly and their uncontrollable dance-like motions. A lot of other names have been known in the past for Huntington Disease also. In 1872 George Huntington, an American physician wrote about this disease saying, "an heirloom from generations away back in the dim past." Later Huntington Disease was named after George Huntington.
The signs of HD are usually very gradual. They can go unnoticed for years. The symptoms vary according to the size of the expansion of the HD gene, the larger the HD gene the earlier in life symptoms begin to show. The signs and symptoms vary from person to person, in one person symptoms could be higher in one area and lower in another. Symptoms include movement disorder, cognitive disorder and psychiatric disorder. Movement disorder includes things like fidgetiness or a nervous restlessness that evolve to abnormal movements that are hard to control. Cognitive disorder causes difficulty in mental flexibility; it makes it hard for the person to switch tasks quickly. It also could make it hard for them to learn new information. The psychiatric disorder in HD includes depression, anxiety, obsessive ness, irritability, social withdrawal, impulsiveness, and trouble initiating activity. In some cases it could include aggressive outburst or hallucinations.
HD is an inherited disease. The impact of the gene depends on whether it is dominate or recessive. If the gene is dominate then only one of the paired chromosomes is required for the effect. If the gene is recessive then both parents must provide chromosomal copies for the trait to be present. HD is an autosomal chromosome. In individuals with HD, one gene of this gene pair (the HD gene) is not functioning correctly and...