In 1872, the American physician George Huntington wrote about an illness that he called "an heirloom
from generations away back in the dim past." He was not the first to describe the disorder, which has been traced back to
the Middle Ages at least.
One of its earliest names was chorea, which, as in "choreography," is the Greek word for dance.
The term chorea describes how people affected with the disorder writhe, twist, and turn in a constant, uncontrollable dance-like
motion. Later, other descriptive names evolved. "Hereditary chorea" emphasizes how the disease is passed from parent to child.
"Chronic progressive chorea" stresses how symptoms of the disease worsen over time.
Today, physicians commonly use the simple term Huntington's disease (HD) to describe this highly complex
disorder that causes untold suffering for thousands of families. |
In the United States alone, about 30,000 people have HD; estimates of its prevalence are about
1 in every 10,000 persons. At least 150,000 others have a 50 percent risk of developing the disease and thousands more of
their relatives live with the possibility that they, too, might develop HD.
Until recently, scientists understood very little about HD and could only watch as the disease continued
to pass from generation to generation. Families saw the disease destroy their loved ones' ability to feel, think, and move.
In the last several years, scientists have made a significant number of breakthroughs in the area of
HD research. With these advances, our understanding of the disease continues to improve. |
