Question: What is (are) Huntington's Disease ?
Answer: Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited disorder that causes degeneration of brain cells, called neurons, in motor control regions of the brain, as well as other areas. Symptoms of the disease, which gets progressively worse, include uncontrolled movements (called chorea), abnormal body postures, and changes in behavior, emotion, judgment, and cognition. People with HD also develop impaired coordination, slurred speech, and difficulty feeding and swallowing. HD typically begins between ages 30 and 50. An earlier onset form called juvenile HD, occurs under age 20. Symptoms of juvenile HD differ somewhat from adult onset HD and include unsteadiness, rigidity, difficulty at school, and seizures. More than 30,000 Americans have HD. Huntingtons disease is caused by a mutation in the gene for a protein called huntingtin. The defect causes the cytosine, adenine, and guanine (CAG) building blocks of DNA to repeat many more times than is normal. Each child of a parent with HD has a 50-50 chance of inheriting the HD gene. If a child does not inherit the HD gene, he or she will not develop the disease and generally cannot pass it to subsequent generations. There is a small risk that someone who has a parent with the mutated gene but who did not inherit the HD gene may pass a possibly harmful genetic sequence to her/his children. A person who inherits the HD gene will eventually develop the disease. A genetic test, coupled with a complete medical history and neurological and laboratory tests, helps physicians diagnose HD.
Source: NINDS

Question: What are the treatments for Huntington's Disease ?
Answer: There is no treatment that can stop or reverse the course of HD. Tetrabenazine is prescribed for treating Huntingtons-associated chorea. It is the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration specifically for use against HD. Antipsychotic drugs may help to alleviate chorea and may also be used to help control hallucinations, delusions, and violent outbursts. Drugs may be prescribed to treat depression and anxiety. Drugs used to treat the symptoms of HD may have side effects such as fatigue, sedation, decreased concentration, restlessness, or hyperexcitability, and should be only used when symptoms create problems for the individual.
Source: NINDS

Question: What is the outlook for Huntington's Disease ?
Answer: Huntingtons disease causes disability that gets worse over time. People with this disease usually die within 15 to 20 years following diagnosis. At this time, no treatment is available to slow, stop or reverse the course of HD.
Source: NINDS