Huntington's disease is a genetic disease attacks the nervous system in the brain. As it worsens, it increasingly affects mobility and the cognitive processes. Initial signs include strange movements, rapid changes in mood, and a person becoming very irritable and restless. The fact that these symptoms are easily confused with depression or some other emotional problems sometimes makes it difficult to get a speedy diagnosis.
Only a neurologist will be able to make an accurate diagnosis after testing the way the patient's eyes move and observing how they walk. They also recognize how this disease may also affect speech. Unfortunately for all the progress of modern medicine, there is no cure or any ways of slowing down its progress. The best that doctors can do is to prescribe medications that help cope with the moodiness and therapists assist patients to maintain speech abilities. After the initial diagnosis, the patient might continue to live up to 25 years but with a major deterioration in their quality of life.
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