What is Huntington disease?

Huntington disease (HD) is an inherited brain disorder that causes cells in specific parts of the brain to die.

Huntington disease is a genetic disorder. About one in every 10,000 Canadians has HD, but one in every 1,000 are touched by HD whether at risk, as a caregiver, family member or friend. The HD gene is dominant, which means that each child born to a parent with Huntington disease has a 50% chance of sharing the same fate.

The symptoms of HD include:
• emotional turmoil (depression, apathy, obsessive behaviour)
• mental loss (inability to focus, think and recall, make decisions)
• physical deterioration (weight loss, involuntary movements, diminished coordination, inability to walk, talk, swallow)

The disease leads to complete incapacitation and, eventually, death.

At the moment there are no treatments that will slow down or stop the disease in humans. But hope for a meaningful treatment has never been more real. In recent years, basic research has dramatically increased our knowledge of HD. Various promising treatment strategies are now in the drug discovery pipeline. More than ever, now is the time to step up the fight against HD.