Huntington'sdisease(HD)isarare,inheritedneurodegenerativedisorderthatcausestheprogressivebreakdownofnervecellsinthebrain.ItiscausedbyageneticmutationintheHTTgene,whichleadstotheproductionofanabnormalformofthehuntingtinprotein.Thisproteinaccumulatesinthebrain,damagingneuronsandimpairingmotorcontrol,cognitivefunction,andemotionalstability.Symptomstypicallyappearbetweentheagesof30and50,thoughtheycandevelopearlierorlater.Earlysignsincludeinvoluntarymovements(chorea),moodswings,irritability,anddifficultywithcoordination.Asthediseaseprogresses,patientsmayexperienceseveremotordysfunction,cognitivedecline(suchasmemorylossandimpairedjudgment),andpsychiatricsymptomslikedepressionorpsychosis.HDisautosomaldominant,meaningachildhasa50%chanceofinheritingthediseaseifoneparentcarriesthemutatedgene.Thereiscurrentlynocure,buttreatmentscanhelpmanagesymptoms.Supportivecare,medications,andtherapiesaimtoimprovequalityoflifeforpatientsandtheirfamilies.Researchcontinuestoexplorepotentialdisease-modifyingtherapies.
