Huntington Disease - The Most Common Hereditary Brain Disorders

Huntington Disease – The Most C ommon Hereditary Brain Disorder s

Huntington disease is an autosomal dominant disorder, meaning that a person needs one copy of the defective gene to develop the disorder. This altered HTT gene passes on between generations, being passed down from parent to child.

This disease leads to brain changes causing abnormal involuntary movements, decreased thinking and reasoning skills, and mood changes such as irritability and depression.

Symptoms of Huntington Disease Huntington disease is now considered as one of the most common hereditary brain disorders. It tends to progress over a 10 to 20 year period, affecting both the basal ganglia and the brain cortex. The basal ganglia are responsible for controlling coordination.

How to test if you are at risk?

To test if you’re at risk of developing Huntington’s disease there is a presymptomatic testing done to measure the number of repeats in the Huntington’s disease gene. This test is a blood test and is done on people who do not have any symptoms of Huntington’s disease.

Huntington’s Genetic Risk Factors

With regards to ethnicity, Huntington’s disease is less common for those with a Japanese, Chinese, or African descent. It commonly affects those of European ancestry, as 3 to 7 per 100,000 people are affected by Huntington’s disease. This disease is commonly found in the United States and Australia.

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