Huntington's disease is not all that common and only affects 1 out of every 10,0000 to 20,000 people.
Huntington's disease is a rare disease that causes an early decay of nerve cells in the brain.
Huntington's disease typically starts in a person's 30s or 40s.
Usually, Huntington's disease results in progressive movement, thinking (cognitive), and psychiatric symptoms.
From the onset of symptoms, people with Huntington's disease have a life expectancy of 10 to 25 years.
Huntington's disease is not evident at birth.
In fact, symptoms will usually not appear until a person is between 35 and 55 years of age, and occasionally even later in life.
There is no cure for Huntington's disease.
Life expectancy of someone with Huntington's disease depends on a few factors, but the median survival period is estimated at 15-18 years after symptoms begin.
Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive condition that causes involuntary muscle movements, cognitive decline, and behavioral changes.
The disease Huntington's disease is a hereditary disorder passed on by a parent to child through a mutation in a gene.
In the United States, Huntington's disease occurs in about one of every 10,000 to 20,000 people.
It affects males and females equally and crosses all ethnic and racial boundaries.
Huntington's disease affects an estimated 3 to 7 per 100,000 people of European ancestry.
The disorder appears to be less common in some other populations, including people of Japanese, Chinese, and African descent.
Huntington's disease does not skip generations.
Each child of a parent with Huntington's has a 50% chance of inheriting the defective gene.
If a child does not inherit the gene, he or she cannot pass it on.
If the child does inherit the gene, he or she can pass it on and will develop the disease.
Adults who carry the mutant HD gene but have not yet displayed symptoms show measurable changes in the structure of their brain, even up to 20 years before clinical diagnosis.
The most painful conditions in Huntington's disease are limb pain, headache, abdominal pain and fractures.