Huntington Disease
An old famous song writer and performer Woody Guthrie (to the left) had a disease call Huntington Disease. Huntington Disease is a genetically programmed degeneration of brain cells,called neurons in certain areas of the brain.There are several stages of Huntington Disease. The first stage is called Chorea. In this stage you may have uncontrollable movement or tics in fingers, feet, face or trunk. Also other symptoms are clumsiness or loss of coordination and balance, slurred speech, swallowing or eating difficulty, walking difficulty, stumbling, falling, mood swings, depression, irritability or driving, learning new things, remembering facts, or making a decision. HD is passed down from parent to child. Huntington's disease is an autosomal dominant condition, meaning only one parent must have the gene in order for a child to inherit the disease. Each child of a parent with the condition has a 50-50 chance of inheriting Huntington's disease. If a child does not inherit the HD gene, he or she will not develop Huntington's disease and cannot pass it to his or her children. HD is carried on chromosome number 4. You can start to see symptoms at age 30 and 40. If you have HD usually symptoms show up later on in life. Yes, HD can be detected before birth this test is called Amniocentesis. This test takes about 20 minutes. They use a ultrasound to detect a pocket of amniotic fluid that is a safe distance from the baby and placenta.They stick a long, thin and hollow needle is inserted through the abdominal wall into the amniotic fluid. A small amount of amniotic fluid is drawn out for testing.It takes about three weeks for the result. A parent can be test to see if they have the Huntington disease gene. This is done but a blood test. Well i can't find anything that says the environment will or will not affect Huntington disease. But, i don't think it all it just get worst in 10-25 years.
Sources
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/huntingtons.html
http://www.targetwoman.com/articles/amniocentesis.html
http://www.lkwdpl.org/hdsa/hdtest.htm
Foundation
Huntington's Disease Society of America
An old famous song writer and performer Woody Guthrie (to the left) had a disease call Huntington Disease. Huntington Disease is a genetically programmed degeneration of brain cells,called neurons in certain areas of the brain.There are several stages of Huntington Disease. The first stage is called Chorea. In this stage you may have uncontrollable movement or tics in fingers, feet, face or trunk. Also other symptoms are clumsiness or loss of coordination and balance, slurred speech, swallowing or eating difficulty, walking difficulty, stumbling, falling, mood swings, depression, irritability or driving, learning new things, remembering facts, or making a decision. HD is passed down from parent to child. Huntington's disease is an autosomal dominant condition, meaning only one parent must have the gene in order for a child to inherit the disease. Each child of a parent with the condition has a 50-50 chance of inheriting Huntington's disease. If a child does not inherit the HD gene, he or she will not develop Huntington's disease and cannot pass it to his or her children. HD is carried on chromosome number 4. You can start to see symptoms at age 30 and 40. If you have HD usually symptoms show up later on in life. Yes, HD can be detected before birth this test is called Amniocentesis. This test takes about 20 minutes. They use a ultrasound to detect a pocket of amniotic fluid that is a safe distance from the baby and placenta.They stick a long, thin and hollow needle is inserted through the abdominal wall into the amniotic fluid. A small amount of amniotic fluid is drawn out for testing.It takes about three weeks for the result. A parent can be test to see if they have the Huntington disease gene. This is done but a blood test. Well i can't find anything that says the environment will or will not affect Huntington disease. But, i don't think it all it just get worst in 10-25 years.
Sources
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/huntingtons.html
http://www.targetwoman.com/articles/amniocentesis.html
http://www.lkwdpl.org/hdsa/hdtest.htm
Foundation
Huntington's Disease Society of America
