Huntington's Disease

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

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, and balance problems. Later, HD can take away the ability to walk, talk, and 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 percent 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.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Start Here

• Huntington's Disease (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Huntington's Disease: Hope through Research (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Also in Spanish
• What is HD - Huntington's Disease? (Huntington's Disease Society of America)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Stages of Huntington's Disease (HD) (Huntington's Disease Society of America)

Related Issues

• Long Term Care (Huntington's Disease Society of America)

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)

Videos and Tutorials

• What Is Huntington Disease? (Dolan DNA Learning Center)

Statistics and Research

• Scientists adopt new strategy to find Huntington's disease therapies (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Huntington Disease (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: The Tiny Drosophila Melanogaster for the Biggest Answers in Huntington's...
• Article: Human cellular models of medium spiny neuron development and Huntington...
• Article: Huntington's disease: the coming of age.
• Huntington's Disease -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Life and Death of a Neuron (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Find an Expert

• Huntington's Disease Society of America
• Locate Resources for Huntington's Disease (Huntington's Disease Society of America)
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Juvenile Onset HD (Huntington's Disease Society of America) - PDF

Patient Handouts

• Huntington disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Swallowing problems (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish