Anyone Familiar with Huntington's Disease?

[HEMI®Dart]

Went to visit a friend this weekend at the nursing home. He's 38 and was working full time 2 years ago. He got the Huntington's disease gene from his mother. She died from it. He was diagnosed about 5 years ago. I started to notice odd behavior about 10+years ago. Temper tantrums, noticeable limp and other things.



He's gained about 60 lbs since I last saw him. Said it's because of the meds. Very tough for him to walk around, even with a cane. Almost no balance. He tried to shoot pool in the rec room with his 6 year old daughter. Cant do it. Coordination is almost non existent. Lots of involuntary muscle movement (arms). Another thing is his eyes were always wide open.



He answers questions with 1 word answers. I don't really think he understands anything. His wife remarked that this was a good day for Steve. He's usually allot worse.



One minute Steve looks normal, then the next he gets a far away look in his face. Almost like he does not recognize us.



I guess this effect 1 in 10,000 people. I'll bet his wondering what he did to deserve this.

 

[EricBu12]

heres a place that looks like it has a lot of information



Sorry to hear of someone suffering from a debilitating illness. Hope he has more good days than bad...



http://www.hdsa.org/



Heres a list of sites from a MSN Search I did



http://search.msn.com/results.asp?FORM=sCPN&RS=CHECKED&un=doc&v=1&q="Huntington 's%20Disease%22

 

[Batman]

Hemi... ... ... . sorry to hear of your friends disease.

As said above "hope he has more good days than bad.

George

 

[tmpenner]

I really feel for your buddy. It is very difficult to see someone go through this disease. Some very close friends our ours also have the gene in their family. My friend's uncle died from it, her father has been going through it for about 15 years and lives in a nursing home, and for the past 4 years my friend has been showing signs and getting gradually worse. She was the first girl that I ever cared for, ever since we were little kids in Sunday School together. She is a beautiful 30 year old, wife, and ex-pharmacist. It is very hard on the family as they wonder who will be the next unfortunate one to suffer or if they should have children and run the risk of passing the gene on. It is difficult to see them in their condition, but so important that they know you care enough to visit them. Hope your friend has many good days and that the bad days pass quickly.

 

[blacksheepdiesel]

Huntington's Chorea ( or "Huntington's Dance" because of involuntary muscle movement). In the early 1900's many of those who had Huntington's (which was yet undiscovered) were placed in mental institutions because of the temper tantrums and fits of rage that are common early symptoms. If I remember corrrectly the singer Woody Guthrie had this disease. Lots of victims eventually die from choking because Huntington's attacks the central nervous system and the person loses muscle control and the ability to swallow, hence the choking deaths. While true that it is passed on genetically it is also true that if a child does not receive the gene then it can not appear in that child's family line. There is a test that can be done to see if a person has the gene which was discovered back in the early 1990's I believe. The test is a fearful thing for those who are deciding whether or not to have children because the testee finds out if they have the gene which will manifest itself. As a youth pastor I worked with a family where the maternal grandmother was going through the final stages of the disease. The granddaughter was always so afraid that her mothers actions were the beginning of the disease, in which case the granddaughter could also be a carrier. Horrible, horrible disease.



My prayers for your friend and especially his family.



Trent