Huntington's+Disease+(HD)

=__**HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE (HD)**__= by Minjea and Seb V

__WHAT IS HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE (Description)__ Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a hereditary disease that affects the neurons in the brain which are involved in emotions, intellect, and movement. HD progresses for over 10 years to 25 years, and at the end the patients are unable to care for themselves. HD usually appears in the middle ages (30 to 50) but it is possible that it might appear earlier when the patient is a child. Only one affected allele is needed from one of the parents for the disease to take place in the child.

1 in 10,000 people in the US have HD (30,000 people in the whole US). 16% of all cases of HD is made up by juvenile HD HD does not have a bigger chance of occurring more in a certain race, or a certain gender All races and genders are affected equally

__EFFECTS OF THE DISORDER__ There are three types of symptoms. They are physical, congnitive, and psychiatric.

The physical part of the effects are- uncontrolled movements/ tics - involuntary rapid ceaseless movement - affects of disease intensifies if subject is stressed - clumsiness - jaw clenching - slurred speech - difficulty balancing, eating and/or walking - muscular contractions (tics)

The cognitive part of the effects are- dementia (caused over time by problems in brain by certain diseases) - difficulty driving - bad memory - bad judgment

The psychiatric part of the effects are- hostility - irritability - inability to take pleasure in life (depression) - lack of energy - weak - delusions - hallucinations - inappropriate behavior (hostile) - paranoia

__TREATMENT__ There is no current cure for HD, but excersising always helps The treatments that the patients receive are mostly focused on reducing symptoms, preventing further complications, and providing support to the patient and the people close to the patient Physicians prescribe various medicine to the patient to help control emotional and physical problems such as antipsychotics, antidepressants, tranquilizers, mood-stabilizers, and botulinum toxin Since the medicine used to help control HD can produce side affects such as fatigue, restlessness, and hyperexcitability, the doctors will usually give the patient the lowest possible dose possible, to help avoid those side affects

__TAKING CARE__

EATING

Many of the HD patients take a longer time than other people because of their loss of coordinated movement makes it difficult for the patients to chew, and swallow The patients are at risk for choking Most times, the food is cut into many smaller pieces, or softened to make the swallowing process easier for them Swallowing therapy is available if the patient has serious difficulty with swallowing Dairy products are avoided because they will be likely to increase the mucus level in the body, which could also put the patient at risk for choking It is important that the patient consumes enough calories to maintain their adequate body weight Sometimes, the number of daily meals are increased, and/or additional supplements are given. When the eating problems get too serious, the patient of guardian should consider a feeding tube HD patients require lots of fluids, especially in the hot weather to avoid dehydration In some cases when the patient does not have enough muscular capability, the water must be thickened with additives until it is at a similar thickness to syrup Problems such as constipation and urinary problems can result as a result of a certain diet, and a lack of physical activity

EXCERSISING

It is important for the HD patients to be physically fit, so the patient should be walking as much as he/she can, even if some assistance is needed Falling is always a risk, so the guardian should clear the excercising area of sharp objects such as rocks, and provide the patient with special padding in case the patient falls. Also, things like small ankle weights, and well-fitting shoes can lower the chances of falling

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1) Do you think that a parent who has HD should test their baby? Why? (watch video)

2) Do you think that in the future, a cure for HD might be found? Explain.

3) What should a person do if he/she finds out that they have HD?

WORKS CITED

The Neurology Channel [|www.neurologychannel.com] Last Updated May 03, 2007

National Institution of Neurological Disorders and Stroke http://www.ninds.nih.gov/ Last updated May 09, 2007

The Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/ Last Updated May 09, 2007

THIS PAGE WAS MADE BY SEB V AND MINJEA