MedlinePlus: Huntington's Disease

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National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Huntington's Disease is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Huntington's Disease

Also called: HD, Huntington's chorea

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited disease that causes certain nerve cells in the brain to waste away. People are born with the defective gene, but symptoms usually don't appear until middle age. Early symptoms of HD may include uncontrolled movements, clumsiness or balance problems. Later, HD can take away the ability to walk, talk or swallow. Some people stop recognizing family members. Others are aware of their environment and are able to express emotions.

If one of your parents has Huntington's disease, you have a 50-50 chance of getting it. A blood test can tell you if have the HD gene and will develop the disease. Genetic counseling can help you weigh the risks and benefits of taking the test.

There is no cure. Medicines can help manage some of the symptoms, but cannot slow down or stop the disease.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

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Genetics Home Reference: Huntington disease(National Library of Medicine)
Huntington's Disease: Hope through Research(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Also available in Spanish

Basics	Learn More	Multimedia & Cool Tools
Overviews Latest News Diagnosis/Symptoms	Disease Management Related Issues	Tutorials
Research	Reference Shelf	For You
Anatomy/Physiology Clinical Trials Genetics Journal Articles	Dictionaries/Glossaries Directories Organizations	Teenagers

Overviews
- Huntington's Disease(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Huntington's Disease(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary
Latest News
- Compound Reverses Huntington's Symptoms in Mice(09/16/2008, HealthDay)
- First Treatment Sanctioned for Chorea in Huntington's Patients(08/15/2008, HealthDay)
- FDA Approves First Drug for Treatment of Chorea in Huntington's Disease(08/15/2008, Food and Drug Administration)
Diagnosis/Symptoms
- Symptoms, Findings, and Clinical Course of Huntington's Disease(We Move)
Disease Management
- Huntington's Disease: Medical Management(We Move)
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Related Issues
- Huntington's Disease(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)
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Tutorials
- What Is Huntington Disease?(Dolan DNA Learning Center) - Requires Flash Player
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Anatomy/Physiology
- Life and Death of a Neuron(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
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Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Huntington Disease(National Institutes of Health)
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Genetics
- Genetics Home Reference: Huntington disease(National Library of Medicine)
- Genetics Home Reference: Huntington disease-like syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
- Learning about Huntington's Disease(National Human Genome Research Institute)
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
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Dictionaries/Glossaries
- Glossary of Terms(We Move)
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Directories
- Find a Neurologist(American Academy of Neurology)
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Organizations
- Huntington's Disease Society of America
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
  Also available in Spanish
- We Move
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Teenagers
- Juvenile Huntington's Disease(Huntington's Disease Society of America) - Links to PDF
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