Huntington's Chorea and it's effects on the body, how it's cause, and a controversial drug Placebo.

1. Huntington’s Chorea
A hereditary Neurodegenerative disease...

2. What is Huntington’s Chorea?
Huntington’s Disease or HD is a progressive or
degenerative brain disorder or also known as a
Neurodegenerative. Huntington’s slowly
diminishes the ability think, walk, and talk.
Chorea are jerking motions which is a
developed symptom of HD. HD slowly ruins the
nerves in your brain. As of the science right
now Huntingtons is an incurable disease.

3. What causes it?
Huntington’s is caused by an abnormality of the 4th
chromosome and HTT gene(makes huntingtin), and the
gene mutates,making a defective protein. This flawed gene
holds the blueprint for the defective version of the protein
“huntingtin.” The Huntington gene defect also has 40
repeats of genetic code, unlike the normal gene that only
has 17-20 repetitions.

4. Who is it most common in?
Huntington’s disease affects an estimated 3 to 7
per 100,000 people of European ancestry. The
disorder appears to be less common in some
other populations, including people of
Japanese, Chinese, and African descent.

5. What parts of the body are
affected?
Huntington’s affects you neurons(brain cells),
eyes, and muscles by destroying the
interneuron,motor and sensory neurons.

6. What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of Huntington’s are…
● Uncontrolled movement of the arms, legs, head, face and
upper body(chorea)
● Decline in thinking and reasoning skills, including memory,
concentration, judgment and ability to plan and organize
● Alterations in mood, especially depression, and anxiety
● Uncharacteristic anger and irritability
● Obsessive-compulsive behavior, leading a person to repeat
the same question or activity over and over

7. When are the onset of
symptoms?
Adult-onset Huntington’s disease, the most common form
of this disorder usually appears in a person's thirties or
forties. Individuals with the adult-onset form of
Huntington’s disease usually live about 15 to 20 years after
signs and symptoms begin.

8. What are the onset of
symptoms?
A less common form of Huntington’s disease, known as the
juvenile form begins in childhood or adolescence. Juvenile
Huntington’s disease tends to progress more quickly than
the adult-onset form; affected individuals usually live 10 to
15 years after signs and symptoms appear.

9. What are the Exams or Tests
There exams or tests for Huntington’s Chorea
are a test to see if you have the genetic mutation
of gene HTT, and how many repeats are within
the HTT gene.

10. What are the treatments?
There are no FDA approved drugs to treat Huntington’
s, but there are drugs in the clinical stage of testing.
Doctors and researchers have broken down the disease
into it’s major symptoms and treat that way. Placebo
has a physiological effect on the body, tricking it and
seeming as the symptoms are going away. Exercising
has also shown strength in balance and neurons
making the onset of symptoms longer.

11. What are treatments for
Chorea?
DR MELISSA CHRISTIANSON OCTOBER 29,
2012
Deep brain stimulation - A procedure in which miniature
electrodes that release pulses of electricity are implanted
into the brain. This treatment may prove useful for
reducing symptoms of uncontrollable movement known as
chorea in patients with HD.
-Atypical antipsychotic drugs also have been proven to help
with Chorea

12. What are the treatments for
OCD and irritability?
Experts recommend Selective Serotonin
Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s) for obsessive
compulsive movements/actions and mood
changes. SSRI’s include
● Prozac
● Celexa
● Luvox
● Zoloft
● Paxil
● Lexapro

13. How does Placebo help?
Placebo is a medically ineffective treatment for a disease or other
medical condition intended to deceive the recipient. Sometimes
patients given a placebo treatment will have a perceived or actual
“improved” in a medical condition, a phenomenon commonly called the
placebo effect. ‘
Placebos have been shown to work in about 30 percent of patients, and
they've been used by doctors for ages. In fact, they were often the only
thing that a doctor could offer to relieve suffering, other than his or her
attention and support. Some researchers believe that placebos simply
evoke a psychological response. The act of taking them gives you an
improved sense of well-being.

14. What is an appropriate diet?
An appropriate diet for Huntington’s Chorea is
● Avoid Tyramine foods (red-wine, aged cheese)
● Antioxidants (blueberries)
● Phytonutrients (Tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon, guava)
● High Calorie Snacks
● Nutrient dense foods (Lobster)

15. Who discovered it?
George Huntington was an American physician
who contributed a clinical description of the
disease that bears his name -Huntington's
disease. Huntington described this condition in
the first of only two scientific papers he ever
wrote.

16. Bibliography
http://science.howstuffworks.
com/life/placebo-effect.htm
http://www.hdsa.
org/images/content/1/1/11695.pdf