Approximately 30,000 people in the United States have Huntington's Disease, which affects men and women equally across all ethnic and racial lines. While more common in adults, juvenile Huntington's accounts for about one-sixth of all cases.
Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive, inherited, degenerative brain disorder that produces physical, mental and emotional changes. Named for George Huntington, the physician who first described the illness in 1872, Huntington's Disease used to be known as Huntington's chorea, from the Greek for choreography, or dance. The name refers to the involuntary, jerky movements that can develop in later stages of the illness.
