Case Study Takeaway: Huntington's Disease

Huntington's is interesting because of its genetic cause, meaning that people who have a parent with the disease has a 50% chance of also having the gene expansion that causes the disease. Even if a younger person does not have symptoms, they can be tested to determine if they have gene expansion that causes the disease. I think this would be a very difficult decision, to get tested for a disease that little-nothing can be done for, or to not get tested and live life until the symptoms start (or don't). Heather (from Tim's case study) made the choice to get tested early and knows at the age of 19 that she has the disease. Tim mentioned taking preventative measures before the symptoms really kick in, like labeling things in the house and writing out step-by-step processes of things that she normally does for when the memory decline begins. After hearing the intervention measures, I can definitely see the benefits to getting tested early just out of preparation for symptoms.

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