Huntington's disease

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Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff

If one of your parents has Huntington's disease, you have a 50 percent chance of developing the disease. In rare cases, you may develop Huntington's disease without having a family history of the condition. Such an occurrence may be the result of a genetic mutation that happened during your father's sperm development.

References
  1. Huntington's disease: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/huntington/detail_huntington.htm. Accessed March 27, 2009.
  2. Huntington's disease. The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec16/ch221/ch221e.html#sec16-ch221-ch221e-49. Accessed March 27, 2009.
  3. SuttonBrown MA, et al. Huntington disease: Clinical features and diagnosis. http://uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 12, 2009.
  4. Learning about Huntington's disease. National Human Genome Research Institute. http://www.genome.gov/page.cfm?pageID=10001215. Accessed March 27, 2009.
  5. Trushina E, et al. Mutant huntingtin inhibits clathrin-independent endocytosis and causes accumulation of cholesterol in vitro and in vivo. Human Molecular Genetics. 2006;15:3578.
  6. Katsuno M, et al. Getting a handle on Huntington's disease: The case for cholesterol. Nature Medicine. 2009;15:253.
  7. FDA approves first drug for treatment of chorea in Huntington's disease. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01874.html. Accessed March 28, 2009.
  8. Kim SU. Stem cell-based cell therapy in neurological diseases: A review. Journal of Neuroscience Research. In press. Accessed March 28, 2009.
  9. ACR16. Neurosearch.com. http://www.neurosearch.com/Default.aspx?ID=752. Accessed March 28, 2009.

DS00401

May 8, 2009

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