librizziw+huntington's+disease

Huntington’s disease
 * Description: **Huntington’s disease is a brain disorder that affects a person’s ability to think, move, and talk. It destroys cells in the basal ganglia, located in your brain. The basal ganglia control a person’s movement, emotion, and cognitive ability.


 * Inheritance: **Huntington’s disease is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern. Everyone who inherits the faulty gene will inherit the disease. If you inherit a larger than normal huntingtin gene from any of your parents it is another way that causes Huntington’s disease. The larger gene produces a protein that begins to kill the brain cells.


 * Symptoms: **People who have Huntington’s disease will start to see symptoms between the ages of 30 and 50. Symptoms are as follow:
 * Poor memory
 * Mood Swings
 * Difficulty walking
 * Difficulty speaking
 * Struggle to swallow substances


 * Daily Life: media type="custom" key="9679540" **


 * Diagnosis: **Doctors check family history and conduct genetic tests to see if a person may develop Huntington’s disease. DNA testing is also an available option to see whether or not people may develop Huntington’s disease. For pregnant women, they have to take two tests to determine if their child may or may not develop Huntington’s disease. Once the child is born, neurological and psychological tests can be done to identify the disease.


 * Treatment: **<span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Huntington’s disease is treated through a series of medications that will ease feelings of depression and anxiety. The medications also control involuntary movement. Speech therapy helps patient’s lead normal lives too. But although treatment help a patient feel more comfortable it doesn’t slow the progression of the disease.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Research: **<span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Research on Huntington’s disease has been an on going process since its discovery in 1872. One of the major milestones in research happened in 2007 when the FDA approved tetrabenazine for patients, to treat chorea in the disease. It is the first medicine specifically made for Huntington’s disease.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Additional Facts: **<span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Animals are being used in further research. Experiments have found that using stem cell therapy to replace damaged neurons in affected brain regions is successful. Many researchers are currently testing drugs on humans in clinical trials. Also, many carriers of Huntington’s disease are using vitro fertilization to prevent their offspring from inheriting Huntington’s disease. In the United States, 1 in 30,000 people have Huntington’s disease. It is less common in Asia and Africa where about 1 in 1 million people are born with the faulty gene.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Punnett Square: **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">hh- Normal



 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pedigree Chart: **

Pictures:

<span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Marsh L. Miller <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">HD Society Hompage <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Milestones in HD research <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">[|www.hdsa.org/research] <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">2008
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Resources: **