What is Huntington’s disease?
Huntington’s disease is a degenerative brain disease that involves a movement disorder. It acts by wearing down the nerve cells of the brain. The disease usually manifests its first symptoms between the ages of 40 and 50 and leads to cognitive, movement and behavioral problems.
Symptoms of Huntington’s disease
Because of the progressive degeneration of neurons caused by Huntington’s disease, the patient suffers from multiple symptoms: muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, alterations in posture and balance, difficulty in reading and writing, difficulty in swallowing, chewing, dysarthria, speech and concentration problems; memory loss, problems in reasoning and problem solving, difficulty in sequencing ideas and with mathematical calculations; psychiatric disorders such as recurrent thoughts of death and social isolation.
Cause of Huntington’s disease
Huntington’s disease is hereditary. The affected person may have the gene for the disease but not know it until symptoms appear in his or her 40s or 50s. Genetic and neurological testing can diagnose whether the disease gene is present and the disease will develop.
Prevention of Huntington’s disease
Although the cause of the disease can be diagnosed even before it occurs, there is currently no way to prevent its onset or the degenerative deterioration it will present. Even so, early detection can be helpful to better adapt to the situation.
Treatment of Huntington’s disease
There is no cure for Huntington’s disease, nor can the deterioration it causes be slowed down. The specialist Neurologist will prescribe a treatment to control the symptomatology through medication.