Huntington's Disease - Anita Harding, Charles Sabine, Chdi Foundation, Chorea, European Huntington's Disease Network, George Huntington, Hdbu (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 43. Chapters: Anita Harding, Charles Sabine, CHDI Foundation, Chorea, European Huntington's Disease Network, George Huntington, HDBuzz, Hereditary Disease Foundation, Huntingtin, Huntington's Disease Association, Huntington's disease clinical research, Huntington's Disease Outreach Project for Education at Stanford, Huntington's Disease Society of America, Huntington Society of Canada, Jeff Carroll, JUNQ and IPOD, List of Huntington's disease media depictions, Marjorie Guthrie, Michael R. Hayden, Nancy Wexler, NeuroSearch, Pridopidine, Tetrabenazine, Trinucleotide repeat disorder, Woody Guthrie. Excerpt: Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and psychiatric problems. It typically becomes noticeable in mid-adult life. HD is the most common genetic cause of abnormal involuntary writhing movements called chorea, which is why the disease used to be called Huntington's chorea. It is much more common in people of Western European descent than in those of Asian or African ancestry. The disease is caused by an autosomal dominant mutation in either of an individual's two copies of a gene called Huntingtin, which means any child of an affected person typically has a 50% chance of inheriting the disease. Physical symptoms of Huntington's disease can begin at any age from infancy to old age, but usually begin between 35 and 44 years of age. Through genetic anticipation, the disease may develop earlier in life in each successive generation. About 6% of cases start before the age of 21 years with an akinetic-rigid syndrome; they progress faster and vary slightly. The variant is classified as juvenile, akinetic-rigid or Westphal variant HD. The Huntingtin gene provides the genetic information for a protein that is also called "huntingtin." Expansion of...