I recently met someone who had this dreadful disease in their family and I thought I would find out something about it.

It seems that Huntington's disease is an inherited disorder that causes degeneration of brain cells. This results in a progressive loss of mental ability, control of movement, and changes in personality.

Huntington's disease causes progressive damage to cells in areas of the brain called the basal ganglia and cerebral cortex. These areas are involved in control of movement, planning, motivation and personality.
Huntington's disease usually develops between the ages of 30 and 50, but it can start at any age. Symptoms, which differ from person to person, get gradually worse, sometimes over a period of up to 20 years.
Huntington's disease was previously called Huntington's chorea. Chorea means jerky, involuntary movements - this is a main symptom of the condition.

Yes this is a very cruel disease. With Juvenile Huntington's disease,a type of Huntington's disease it normally develops before 20 and is usually more severe. It affects around five to 10 in 100 people with Huntington's disease.

The early symptoms of Huntington's disease are sometimes overlooked. This is because they are mild at first and people without the disease can have the same symptoms.

You may have symptoms of Huntington's disease for a long time before you find out you have the condition.

Early symptoms :

·mild tremor
·clumsiness
·lack of concentration
·irritability
·short-term memory problems
·mood changes
·depression

Over time these symptoms get worse and eventually will need the support full-time nursing care.

Physical symptoms of this disease include chorea (involuntary movements of your limbs, face and body). Chorea may lead to difficulty walking, speaking and swallowing. You may lose weight because you're having difficulty eating and drinking and because you're burning more calories due to the continuous movement. Your ability to co-ordinate your movement will get gradually worse as the disease progresses.

Emotional symptoms include depression, not only because of the burden of having a progressive disorder, but as a direct result of the damage to certain brain cells. You may become frustrated at being unable to work or do previously simple tasks. You may behave stubbornly, have mood swings, become more irritable and antisocial than usual, or have fewer inhibitions.

Behavioural symptoms of Huntington's disease include a loss of drive and initiative. Someone suffering from this condition may appear lazy or uninterested in life, spending days doing little or neglecting their personal hygiene. They may also lose the ability to organise themselves and do more than one task at once. In the later stages of the disease, they may have memory loss and be less able to understand speech.

The behavioural symptoms of Huntington's disease are often the most distressing for the patient, family and carers. Personalities can become gradually more self-centred and unmotivated, putting a strain on personal relationships.

The symptoms of juvenile Huntington's are similar to those of Huntington's disease, but muscular rigidity (stiff muscles) is more common and involuntary movements are less likely.

In juvenile Huntington's disease symptoms will most likely develop in the teens. A sufferer may be irritable and aggressive and start to act out of character, possibly displaying inappropriate social or sexual behaviour.
Causes of Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease is caused by a faulty gene that runs in families. The gene produces a protein called Huntington. Scientists are still researching how this faulty gene causes the disease.

Most genes are present in two copies: one from mother and one from father. The faulty gene that causes Huntington's disease is dominant. This means that if a child inherits a copy of this gene from either parent, he or she will go on to develop the disease at some point in their life.
With one parent with Huntington's disease,a child has a one in two chance of inheriting the faulty gene. The risk is one in two for each child