Huntington's disease
Inherited brain disorder
Huntington's disease is an inherited neurological disorder causing progressive degeneration of brain cells.
Symptoms typically appear in middle age and include involuntary movements, cognitive decline, and psychiatric changes.
The disease is caused by a genetic mutation and is always fatal, usually within ten to twenty years of onset.
Also called Huntington's chorea, from the Greek for dance, describing the characteristic jerky movements.
Involuntary jerking muscle disorder
- dystoniaMovement disorder causing postures
- bradykinesiaPathological movement slowness
- rigidityState of being unbending
- cognitive declineWorsening of thought abilities
dementia · psychiatric symptoms · depression · irritability · apathy · involuntary movements · gait disturbance · dysphagia
Passed through generations
- family historyRecord of ancestors
- pedigreeRecord of descent
- genetic testingAnalysis for inherited disorders
- genetic counselingGuidance on inherited conditions
risk factor · offspring · descendants · ancestry · bloodline · at-risk · presymptomatic · anticipation
Having superior influence
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- repeatDo or say again
- expansionIncrease in scope
- genotypeOrganism's complete allele set
allele · penetrance · heritability · locus · DNA · gene · polymorphism · pathogenesis
Drugs treating severe mental disorders
- physical therapyRehabilitative movement-based medical care
- speech therapyTreatment for communication disorders
- occupational therapyRestoring practical life abilities
- palliative careRelief-focused medicine for illness
clinical trials · supportive care · multidisciplinary · neurologist · psychiatrist · caregiver support
Subcortical motor-control nuclei
- striatumSubcortical basal ganglia nucleus
- cerebral cortexBrain's outer neural sheet
- neuropathologyStudy of nervous system diseases
- white matterPale neural fiber tissue
gray matter · neuroimaging · MRI · PET scan · biomarkers
chorea
Involuntary jerking muscle disorder
- dystoniaMovement disorder causing postures
- bradykinesiaPathological movement slowness
- rigidityState of being unbending
cognitive decline · dementia · psychiatric symptoms · depression · irritability · apathy · involuntary movements · gait disturbance · dysphagia · dysarthria
hereditary
Passed through generations
- family historyRecord of ancestors
- pedigreeRecord of descent
- genetic testingAnalysis for inherited disorders
genetic counseling · risk factor · offspring · descendants · ancestry · bloodline · at-risk · presymptomatic · anticipation · late onset
dominant
Having superior influence
genotype · allele · penetrance · heritability · locus · DNA · gene · polymorphism · pathogenesis · genomics
antipsychotics
Drugs treating severe mental disorders
- physical therapyRehabilitative movement-based medical care
- speech therapyTreatment for communication disorders
- occupational therapyRestoring practical life abilities
palliative care · clinical trials · supportive care · multidisciplinary · neurologist · psychiatrist · caregiver support
basal ganglia
Subcortical motor-control nuclei
- striatumSubcortical basal ganglia nucleus
- cerebral cortexBrain's outer neural sheet
- neuropathologyStudy of nervous system diseases
white matter · gray matter · neuroimaging · MRI · PET scan · biomarkers
- Dominant Disordersneurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, long QT syndrome, polydactyly
- chronic conditionsdiabetes, asthma, arthritis, hypertension, COPD
- Medical EponymsAlzheimer's, Parkinson's, Down syndrome, Bell's palsy, Tourette's
- Brain Disordersdementia, Alzheimer's, epilepsy, Parkinson's, brain tumor
- Disabilitiesblind, paralysis, vision loss, developmental disability, hearing impairment
- Genetic Conditionscystic fibrosis, sickle cell, hemophilia, muscular dystrophy, Down syndrome
Huntington's diseaseinfectious disease
Pathogen-caused transmissible ailment
HIV/AIDS · tuberculosis · malaria · mesothelioma · traumatic brain injury
Huntington's diseasebacterial infection
Illness from harmful microorganisms
strep throat · appendicitis · broken bone · benign tumor · vitamin deficiency
Huntington's diseasecongenital disorder
Condition present at birth
acute illness · stroke · heart attack · birth defect · Down syndrome
disease, hunter, hunting, hunted, huntsman, huntress, Huntington, huntsmen, huntable