See your health care provider if you notice changes in your movements, emotional state or mental ability. The signs and symptoms of Huntington's disease can be caused by a number of different conditions. Therefore, it's important to get a prompt, thorough diagnosis.
It's up to you to decide if you want to have the test. Lots of people at risk of Huntington's disease decide they'd rather not know until any symptoms appear. If you do want to know, ask your GP for a referral to a genetic counsellor. You'll have several appointments with the counsellor.
If you have Huntington disease, it is important to closely monitor you condition, and contact your healthcare provider if you notice any of the following symptoms: Increasing difficulty with motor tasks such as walking. Trouble swallowing. Mood changes, such as increasing symptoms of depression or feelings of suicide.
It is important to understand that while people are born with the mutated gene for HD, in most cases they will not develop the symptoms until later in life. Therefore someone can be without symptoms or presymptomatic for a number of years.
There's no cure for Huntington's disease. Medication and therapies can help treat some of the symptoms. Speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, can help with communication and day-to-day living. Regular exercise is also very important.
In Australia it is estimated that over 1,800 people have Huntington's Disease and approximately 9,000 are at risk (Huntington's NSW ACT website, 2019) with a reported prevalence rate in Australia which ranges from 4.5 per 100,000 to 6.5 per 100,000 (Pringsheim et al., 2012).
Once the symptoms start to affect your daily life, you will be diagnosed with active disease. The disease is staged based on your motor function and ability to complete everyday tasks. Typically, HD progresses for 10 to 30 years.
Each child of a parent with HD has a 50 percent chance of inheriting the HD gene. A child who does not inherit the HD gene will not develop the disease, and generally, they cannot pass it on to their children or other future generations.
A positive test result means you do carry the faulty HD gene. Due to the genetic nature of HD, your test results may impact others in your family who are at risk. If you have a positive test result, it means that your parent also has the faulty gene, and your siblings may as well.
After Huntington's disease starts, a person's functional abilities gradually worsen over time. The rate of disease progression and duration varies. The time from the first symptoms to death is often about 10 to 30 years. Juvenile Huntington's disease usually results in death within 10 years after symptoms develop.
In order to receive a diagnosis, you will need to obtain a referral from your GP to see a Huntington's disease specialist. The initial consultation may include: Discussion of family history. Your current knowledge of Huntington's disease.
Huntington's disease affects approximately 30,000 people in the United States. If left untreated, it can lead to serious liver disease, central nervous system issues and death.
Symptoms of Huntington's disease usually develop between ages 30 and 50, but they can appear as early as age 2 or as late as 80.
Huntington's disease is a condition that stops parts of the brain working properly over time. It's passed on (inherited) from a person's parents. It gets gradually worse over time and is usually fatal after a period of up to 20 years.
Late-onset (>59 years) Huntington's disease (HD) is rare, and information on the manifestations, disease course, and underlying genetics is scarce.
Huntington's disease does not skip generations. Each child of a parent with Huntington's has a 50% chance of inheriting the defective gene. If a child does not inherit the gene, he or she cannot pass it on. If the child does inherit the gene, he or she can pass it on and will develop the disease.
There's currently no cure for Huntington's disease or any way to stop it getting worse.
The first clinical trial of a drug intended to delay the onset of Huntington's disease symptoms revealed that high doses of the nutritional supplement creatine were safe and well tolerated by most study participants.
Stage 1: Preclinical Stage
In the Preclinical stage, an individual will start to develop mild symptoms, such as anxiety, unusual irritability, poor coordination, difficulty learning new things and issues with making decisions.
Huntington's disease is currently found in many different countries and ethnic groups around the world. The highest frequencies of HD are found in Europe and countries of European origin, such as the United States and Australia. The lowest documented frequencies of HD are found in Africa, China, Japan, and Finland.
Although anyone can develop HD, it tends to run in people of European descent (having family members who came from Europe). But the main factor is whether you have a parent with HD. If you do, you have a 50% chance of also having the disease.
Huntington's Disease (HD) is not fatal in itself. People with HD have a shorter life expectancy and die of other life-threatening complications related to this disease. Pneumonia and heart disease are the two leading causes of death for people with HD.