Dr. Hersch is chairing the HDSA advisory committee charged with planning other, similar centers. Huntington's disease is an inherited neurologic disorder. The jerky, involuntary choreic movements and progressive dementia associated with it are caused by the selective loss of brain cells in the basal ganglia and other regions of the brain. Early symptoms may include depression, mood swings, forgetfulness, lack of coordination, personality changes and slurred speech. Within 10 to 25 years, patients lose mental capacity and physical control.
Death results from complications such as infection, pneumonia or heart failure.
No cure is available. HDSA backing will allow the Emory center to provide patients greater access to allied health services such as physical therapy and social work. Creation of the HDSA Center of Excellence lets us purchase many of these essential services for patients and ease some of the enormous financial burden felt by even the most well-insured patients and their families. Ongoing social support such as on-site social work consultations for patients and their family members, counseling during genetic testing and psychiatric evaluations for persons in the later stages of disease are being bolstered. Research efforts are being stepped up, as well.