About Huntington's Disease Month

DESCRIPTION:

May is National Huntington Disease Awareness Month in the United States.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic brain disorder that destroys life, and it is described as having Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Schizophrenia all at once.

HD causes cells in specific parts of the brain to die. As the disease progresses, a person with Huntington's cannot manage movements, recall events, make decisions, and control emotions. The condition leads to incapacitation and, eventually, death.

HD is hereditary. A child born to a parent with HD has a 50% chance of sharing the same fate as all family members. One in every 7,000 Canadians has Huntington's disease, males and females have the same risk of inheriting the disease, and HD occurs in all races.

A middle-aged disease, its symptoms usually appear between the ages of 30 and 45, but in rare instances, it has shown up in children as young as five and with people in their 70s. Currently, it is incurable with no effective treatments.

In 2006, Canadian researchers stopped the progression of HD in mice. Dr. Sipione, from the University of Alberta, showed that injecting ganglioside GM1 into the brains of HD mice can reverse the disease's motor symptoms. Her experiments prove that it might be possible to develop drugs to reverse at least some of the effects of HD in humans.

In May 2012, Dr. Ray Truant of McMaster University revealed a link between this fatal neurodegenerative disease and Alzheimer's. This link may point to potential drug targets for both disorders.

National Huntington Disease Awareness Month is a time for Canadians to learn about the disease, support those with it, and raise funds and awareness toward a cure.

This event is also occurring in the Canada with a different sponsor.