OVERViEW

Huntington's disease is a genetic disease that is transferred in genes from generation to generation and it is hereditary. This disease is when certain nerve cells in the brain waste away or degenarate. As this disease advances, personality, memory, and mood changes in the person affected. Huntington's disease was first described by Dr. George Huntington in 1872 and the gene that causes this disease was discovered in 1993. The gene is an autosomal dominant disease that can be inherited to the child from either the mother or the father. Any child can get the disease no matter what gender they are, and if they have the gene they will have the disease because it does not skip generations! Huntington's disease affects an estimated 30,000 Americans (about 1 in every 10,000 people). This disease is seen in the person when they are between the ages of 30 and 45 and that is why the disease is passed on to children because they do not know they have the disease until after they have had their children.