Hello and welcome to episode 18 of my series of Tiny Talks about dementia and memory loss.
Today I will be talking about Huntington's syndrome.
Huntington's is different than all the other syndromes that I've featured in my Tiny Talks,
Because it is hereditary.
Every naturally conceived child of a parent who has Huntington's has a 50% chance of developing it themselves.
There is a test to establish if an individual has the faulty gene that causes the syndrome.
Huntington's affects your body's nervous system as a whole,
From the spinal cord up into the brain.
It affects both women and men.
And it usually develops between the ages of 30 and 50,
But can start at any age.
If you would develop symptoms before the age of 20,
This is known as juvenile Huntington's disease.
Juvenile Huntington's is rare,
Less than 10% of all cases.
Those with juvenile Huntington's often experience some symptoms that are quite different from those with adult Huntington's.
The syndrome causes potential changes in movement,
Learning,
Thinking and emotions.
Once symptoms begin,
The disease gradually progresses.
As with all other dementias,
The symptoms of Huntington's disease vary widely between people.
Even people in the same family may be affected differently.
However,
Changes are usually affected in these three main areas.
One,
Movement.
Two,
Cognition.
And three,
Behavior.
In terms of movement,
People will make unexpected movements that makes it hard to do things.
It is the most visible symptom of Huntington's.
The cognitive changes are perceived as impacting the most on daily life,
And include difficulties with planning and thinking.
The changes in behavior and personality are often of the biggest concern to both people themselves and those around them.
