Please help and donate to the Huntington' Chorea Foundation.
By donating to this foundation, you are helping the people who have this devistating disease.
One day, Emma Watson noticed that her husband, John, kept stumbling and running
into furniture. After that, he started to mumble and slur his words. It was after John started to get very irritable
and quickly enraged that Emma knew something was horribly wrong. After a period of time, John could no longer talk clearly
or coherently, or walk, or read.
The story above is an example of someone that was diagnosed with Huntington's
Chorea. It is a very sad and devistating disease that not only affects the person who has Huntington's Chorea, but the
people around them.
Huntington's chorea is a genetically transmitted,
degenerative disorder of the Central Nervous System.
An MRI scan of brain of a Huntington's Chorea patient.
Everyone who inherits this gene from one of their parents eventually developes
the disease.
Symptoms:
- clumsiness and eventually
uncontrollable movements
- irritability and forgetfulness
- lack of reasoning
- depression
- hesitant, haltered, or slurred
speech
- swallowing problems
- difficulty shifting gaze without
moving your head
Mode of inheritance:
It is inherited and caused by a dominant gene.
A pedigree chart of Huntington's Chorea.
Who can it affect?
Both males and females can have it. Symptoms manifest themselves later
in life, usually after the age of 35. Once it gets in the family, it usually stays in the family, since
it is located on a dominant gene. It affects the
victim’s walking, personality, and ability to communicate with other people. Huntington's
Chorea is an internal and neurological disease. This disease is fatal. Within 10 to 20 years of being diagnosed with Huntington’s chorea, patients
usually die from heart disease after illnesses, or due to falls, choking, or suicide before dementia is evident.
Pedigree chart of Huntington's Chorea showing family inheritance.
Treatments:
Nothing can cure Huntington's Chorea, but some treatments
can control symptoms.
Medication:
-For violent episodes or hallucinations: haloperidol (Haldol) and clozapine (Clozaril)
-For depression: fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), sertraline
(Zoloft) and nortriptyline (Aventyl, Pamelor)
-Speech therapy can help impaired speech
-Physical therapy can help keep the muscles strong
and decrease the risk of falling
What can be done to detect Huntington's Chorea?
A
computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan may show any changes to your brain's structure. Your
doctor may suggest a blood test to determine whether you carry the defective gene.
-If you have Huntington's
Chorea, you may want to consider adoption.
-For people
with Huntington’s chorea, you want to exercise, drink fluids, and maintain proper nutrition.
