Huntington s Disease ( Hd ) - 1250 Words

Statement of Topic Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a genetic disorder in which the necrosis of cells in the brain causes early death [9]. The neurodegeneration of the brain leads to mechanical and psychological symptoms, which can present normally from 30 to 50 years of age or even earlier, which is referred to as Juvenile Huntington’s Disease [3,5,6]. Some mechanical symptoms of HD are change in gait, uncontrolled or sudden movement, abnormal face movement, turning the whole head instead of using the eyes, difficulty swallowing, impairment of speech and general decrease of motor skills [1]. Psychological symptoms include but are not limited to paranoia, irritability, mood swings, changes in behavior such as agitation or instability and†¦show more content†¦These factors can determine how well the brain will hold up against the physical deterioration of the disease. This could possibly lead to postponed and later onset or slower progression of HD [8]. Science and Methods Used Huntington’s Disease is dominant and autosomal, affecting chromosome 4 on the genome [3,7]. Normal individuals have that specific CAG strand repeated 10-28 times, however, an individual with HD possesses 36-100 repeats [1,3,7]. The methods in which cognitive and brain reserve were measured were through a series of cognitive tests and neuroimaging evaluation for six consecutive years. First of all, the participants were uniquely and specifically chosen, making sure they fit proper criteria. This included not possessing other mental or physical disabilities or complications such as depression, mental disabilities, cardiac or health issues and any metal implants (due to neuroimaging). The 821 participants were all over the age of 18, possessed at least 36 CAG repeats, and tested positive (for HD) and had a family history of HD. Initial tests were taken to set a baseline to compare results and the study consisted of six follow-up sessions. Due to unavoidable circumstances not all participants followed up annually for six years, which caused missing data as shown