Huntington Disease and its Outcomes Huntington’s disease is named after George Huntington. This disease genetically is an inherited disorder that damages the mind and nervous system. This may affect actions of the body for example like movement, the ability to reason, awareness, and thinking and judgment. It can also affect their behavior. The word genetic is that the disorder is delivered on by each generation of offspring by special codes called genes(Patient.Co.Uk, 2011). Genes are relocated from a parent to offspring and is held to decide some characteristics of the children (Patient.Co.Uk, 2011). This disorder is caused by an inherited flaw on one gene (Mayo Clinic, 2010). Individuals in of western European around 1 in 20,000 are born with a gene that causes this disorder. Huntington’s disease is not as much common in areas such as Asia and Africa (Your Genes Your Health, 2012). People all over the world are affect by HD. HD is another way of saying Huntington’s disease. On Figure 1.0 you can see a person who has been affected with HD. Cause of Huntington’s Disease The cause of this is caused by a defect on chromosome 4. This gene is in control for building proteins called huntingtin. Chromosome is a construction of nucleic acids and protein. It brings genetic information in the form of genes. The defect on the gene defines that specific proteins are required to make brain substances that can’t be prepared in the brain normally. This is also the result to the harm and loss of brain cells and some portions of the brain. Also there a collection of chemical called dopamine. This also causes movement problems. This damage this leads to the symptoms to the disorder known as Huntington’s disease. (Patient.Co.Uk, 2011). This ... ... middle of paper ... ...tington’s disease. This test does not tell when Huntington’s disease will begin or what symptoms will come out first. Some people choose others to take this test because they find it stressful not knowing and others are willingly to take it because they simply just want to know. All these test are only done after discussion with a counselor (Mayo Clinic, 2010). Treatment of Huntington’s disease For this disorder no known cure that is known to man. There are still ways to control symptoms. For example like the use of medications can help control moving problems and treat depression and other problems such as emotional or mental (Your Genes Your Health, 2012). Most people with Huntington’s disease have health care specialists who work with them. Other members can include a professional in the mind, nerve and muscle problems, a psychiatrist and a genetic counselor.
Percy, A. K. (1999). Inherited neurodegenerative disease: The evolution of our thinking. Journal of Child Neurology, 14(4), 256-62. Retrieved from
Abada, Y. K., Schreiber, R., & Ellenbroek, B. (2013). Motor, emotional and cognitive deficits in adult BACHD mice: A model for Huntington’s disease. Behavioural Brain Research, 238, 243-251. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2012.10.039
1 in 1000 to 1 in 10,000 peoples around the world and, 4-10 per 100000 in the western countries are affected with HD. The average age of onset is 40 years and disease progresses over 15-20 years. The earliest symptoms include general lack of co-ordination, uncontrollable jerky movements called chorea and slow saccadic eye movements. As the disease progresses cognitive abilities are declined and finally leading to dementia along with behavioural and psychiatric problems [3]
Huntington's disease is a progressive brain disorder that is caused by a single defective gene on chromosome 4 — which is one of the 23 human chromosomes that carry a person’s entire genetic code (alz.org, 2013). This defect is dominant, w...
In Gattaca, the plot focuses on the ethics, the risks, and the emotional impact of genetic testing in the nearby future. The film was released in the 90s; yet in the present, the film does not give the impression of science fiction. Today, genetic testing is prevalent in many aspects of the scientific community. This paper will describe genetic testing, its purpose, diagnostic techniques that use genetic testing, relating Huntington’s disease to genetic testing, and the pros and cons of genetic testing.
Nurse’s play a very important role in the delivery of care to an older person and in complex disease such as Parkinson’s disease, the care provided by a nurse is vital for both the patient and the family of the affected person. The aim of this essay is to understand briefly about Parkinson’s disease and associated issues and the role of the nurse in the management of the condition.
Huntington's disease is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder. It is passed on to children from one or both parents (though two parents with Huntington's is extraordinarily rare) in an autosomal dominant manner. This is different from autosomal recessive disorder, which requires two altered genes (one from each parent) to inherit the disorder.
Dementia is a significant health issue in Australia (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2012) (AIHW 2012). Whilst Dementia primarily affects older members of the community, it can also affect young people and has a significant influence on overall health and quality of life (AIHW 2012). The type of Dementia is a determinant in the severity and development of symptoms in individuals (Department of Health 2013) (DoH, 2013). The gradual, progressive and irreversible nature of Dementia has a considerable social and physical impact not only on the individual, but also on family and friends.
George Huntington first described Huntington’s disease in 1872, but it was only mentioned to the world in 1913, when “Huntington’s chorea,” the disease’s original name, appeared on the agenda of a Washington medical convention (Bakalar). In 1936, Huntington’s disease was mentioned twice, in two different letters about eugenics, “improving the species by regulating human reproduction,” (Bakalar). It appeared as one of five diseases that should be considered for voluntary sterilization (Bakalar). The first description appeared in an article titled, “Report on a Hereditary Illness,” that described the study of Huntington’s that had been published in a British medical journal (Bakalar). The study, which found the illness to be more widespread than thought, mentioned George Huntington and his original work and included a description of the disease’s symptoms and prevalence (Bakalar). On October 4, 1967, Huntington’s disease made an appearance in the obituary of well-known folk singer and composer Woody Guthrie, who suffered from the disease for thirteen years.
The reason Huntington's disease is a hereditary disease caused by a single abnormal gene. Doctors considered a dominant disorder chromosome is because only one copy of the gene is defective, inherited from parents. If the parent has a faulty gene, the chance that their children will have disabilities is 50 percent. Because the signs and symptoms often first appear in middle age, some parents may not even know they carry the gene until they have children grow up. If the child does not inherit by the defective gene then they will not pass down the Huntington’s disease for the next
This paper is on dementia, a late-life disorder, as it pertains to the geriatric population. “It is estimated that 24.3 million people around the world have dementia and that, with an estimated 4.6 million new cases every year, we can expect about 43 million people and their families to have to handle the challenge of dementia by 2020.” (McNamera, 2011) I will cover three relevant points concerning this disorder that cause changes in the brain.
Dementia can occur in relation to many different illnesses. Some of the most common of which are Huntington’s Disease,
Obstructions such as tumors can interrupt normal brain activity, leading to deficits of normal reasoning, motor control, or consciousness. Many of the signs of neural damage are easily recognizable by an outside observer, but since the actual cause of these problems are internal, the symptoms can be vague. The real deficits can affect the brain’s anatomy, or the way signals are processed. A physician can only determine the real cause by examining the brain internally to find irregularities, either in structure or in functioning.
Since the gene for HD is dominant, there is a 50% chance of a sufferer's
Stroke is a commonly known disease that is often fatal. This cellular disease occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted by either a blood clot halting the progress of blood cells in an artery, called an Ischemic stroke, or a blood vessel in the brain bursting or leaking causing internal bleeding in the brain, called a hemorrhagic stroke. When this happens, brain cells are deprived of oxygen and nutrients because the blood cells carrying these essential things are stopped, causing them to die. When the cells in the brain die, sensation or movement in a limb might be cut off and may limit an organism’s abilities. A person with stroke is affected depending on where in the brain the stroke occurs. In other words, symptoms of a stroke