Huntingtons Disease: The Singer Must Dance [Paperback]

The book will present Huntingtons disease, or Huntingtons chorea, as an inherited disease that results in degeneration of brain cells. It will describe how the degeneration of brain cells in Huntingtons disease patients results in loss of movement, emotional problems including depression, memory lapses, and impaired cognitive function. The book will describe how the symptoms associated with Huntingtons disease do not usually appear until a patient is in their 30s or 40s, a phenomenon referred to as adult onset of disease. It will describe the occurrence of a rare juvenile onset form of Huntingtons disease. The book will describe how a preliminary diagnosis of Huntingtons disease is made by assessment of neurological function and how a definitive diagnosis is made by prenatal, newborn, child, and adult genetic analyses. The book will discuss additional health issues that can arise for someone living with Huntingtons disease, such as injuries from falling, malnutrition from inability to swallow, opportunistic infections, and emotional and psychological problems. It will describe how Huntingtons disease is caused by a mutation in the huntingtin gene on chromosome 4. Since the disease is caused by mutation in only one of the two forms of the gene carried by each person, the pattern of inheritance of Huntingtons disease is autosomal dominant. The book will present the disease as the prime example of a trinucleotide repeat disorder. It will profile the most common way that Huntingtons disease occurs, with one of the parents having the disease causing gene, resulting in a 50% chance that each offspring will have the disease and will describe how spontaneous mutation can also cause the disease. It will present rates of occurrence of Huntingtons disease in different ethnic groups. The book will explore genetic and environmental factors that affect patients with Huntingtons disease. It will address the interaction of the huntingtin protein with the protein products of other gl3(