Brianna

__**Huntington's Disease:**__

 Huntington's Disease is a degenerative disease that affects nervous cells in the brain. It is an autosomal condition. The disease is passed down (Inherited) through families, and is caused by a defect on chromosome 4. This defect makes part of the DNA, called a CAG repeat, to occur more times than is should. The majority of cases appear in adults, the symptoms start to appear between the affected person's mind to late thirties and fourties. Although Juvenial Huntington's Disease ( Condition affecting people under twenty one, have different symptoms, and are much more rapid.) The mutation/ defect that causes Huntington's Disease is dominant, so only one parent has to have it for the child to get it. **__Symptoms:__** Symptoms of Huntington's Disease affect the patient both physically, and mentally /behaviorally. **Adults:** //Over time: //
 * Hallucinations
 * Irritability/ Moodiness
 * Fidgeting or restlessness
 * Paranoia
 * Psychosis
 * Loss of control of facial/ body movements
 * Unsteady gait
 * Speech impairments
 * Difficulty swallowing
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Anxiety, Stress, and Tension
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Disorientation and or confusion
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Loss of judgement
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Loss of memory
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Personality challenges

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">**Children:** <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 220%;">**__Testing/ Cures :__** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">There are not very many known ways to test for Huntington's/ signs of Huntington's, Besides these: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">As of right now, there is no known/released cure for Huntington's Disease. But certain medications can be taken to help with the symptoms, and maybe even slow it's progression, so the patient can lead somewhat of a normal life in the time they have left.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Rigidity
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Tremors
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Slowed movements
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Loss of learned physical or academic skills
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Seizures
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">MRI scan of the brain
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Head CT scan
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">PET ( Isotope) brain scan
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Dopamine Blockers: to reduce abnormal movements and behavior
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Amantadine and Tetrabenazine: To control the abnormal/extra movements

<span style="color: #29db29; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 220%;">**__Prognosis (Expectations):__** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Because Huntington's is a degenerative disease, it will get worse over time. People with the disease will normally die within Twenty to Thirty years, but for Juvenile Huntington's, the person is normally dead in less than fifteen. It is said that most people with Huntington's die from either: <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 220%;">__**Statistics:**__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">An Infection caused by the disease
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Not being able to swallow
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Suicide ( Huntington's is known to cause clinical depression and suicidal thoughts because of the deterioration of the brain.)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In the United States alone, around 300,000 people have been diagnosed with Huntington's.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">One in every ten thousand people has Huntington's.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">At least another 150,000 people have at least a fifty percent chance of developing the disease.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">One to Three percent of cases of Huntington's occur where there is no family history of it present.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Thirty to Fifty percent of people with Juveniele Huntington's will experience seizures.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 230%;">*Fun fact*: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Famed Folk singer and social activist Woodie Guthrie suffered from Huntington's, which lead to his death in 1967. **