Definitions for "Huntington's disease"
A dominant genetic disorder in which a protein is produced abnormally, leading to the breakdown in the parts of the brain that control movement.
An autosomal dominant inherited disorder, usually beginning in middle age, featuring insidious progression of mental abnormalities associated with frontal lobe damage (emotional, personality, and intellectual) and motor abnormalities associated with basal ganglion damage (hence the alternate name, Huntington's chorea). Although there are exceptions, most patients with this disorder deteriorate to a vegetative state in 10-15 years. Pathological examination of the brain reveals extensive degeneration of the striatum, and to a lesser extent, frontal cortex. Molecular biology reveals abnormal expansion of the triplet repeat at the 3' end for the coding region of a newly characterized gene; its function is not yet understood.
An inherited, degenerative brain disease affecting the mind and body, characterized by intellectual decline and involuntary movement of limbs.