What is Huntington's and Juvenile Huntington's disease?

Huntington's Disease (gene found in 1993), is a hereditary, degenerative, and terminal brain disease for which there is no cure. Huntington's disease is caused by a genetic mutation on chromosome 4.  Huntington's disease abbreviated - HD or Juvenile Huntington's disease — JHD is an autosomal dominant disease. This means that only one parent must have the mutated gene for a child to inherit the disease. Every child of a person with Huntington's disease has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the fatal mutation. Huntington's disease does not skip generations. This disease slowly diminishes the individual's ability to walk, move, talk, and reason.  In advanced stages, the person with HD relies completely on others for their personal care.

​

HD affects the lives of entire families — socially, psychologically, and economically, it affects males and females and knows no ethnic or racial boundaries. Many of us within the international community describe the symptoms of JHD/HD as having, ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer's disease, Dementia, Bipolar disorder, and Schizophrenia — all at the same time. Huntington's disease is not a one-size-fits-all disease, and each patient must be individually treated.

​

Simply, Huntington's disease is more than a physical disease. Often, the individual with HD might seem to be (or act) "drunk" to the on-looker, due to the physical attributes of the disease. 

​

Juvenile Huntington's disease (JHD) affects children before the age of twenty. If the father is the affected parent, his children can show symptoms much earlier in life than the father - (JHD). CAG repeats for JHD patients are much higher than the adult-onset of Huntington’s disease – repeats maybe 50+, 60+, or more. Upwards o