What is Huntington disease?Huntington disease (HD) is an inherited brain disorder that causes cells in specific parts of the brain to die.
Huntington disease is a genetic disorder. For decades, it was estimated that one in every 10,000 Canadians had HD but it is now believed that the prevalence may be as high as twice that rate.
One in every 500 to 1,000 is touched by HD whether at risk, as a caregiver, family member or friend.
HD is genetically-dominant, meaning that each child conceived with one parent with the gene for Huntington disease has a 50% chance of receiving that copy of the gene and sharing the same fate.
It has been estimated that 21,000 Canadians either have Huntington disease or are at-risk for it.
Huntington disease is also known as "Maladie de Huntington," "Enfermedad de Huntington," "Corea de Huntington," "Mal de San Vito," "Chorea Huntington," "Doenca de Huntington," "Corea di Huntington," "De ziekte van Huntington," "Choroba Huntingtona," "Huntington's Sykdom." What is HD called in your language or region? Email info@hdtoronto.org
To find out more information, click here.