Huntington's Disease Information - HOPES (original) (raw)
The Inheritance of HD
An introductory guide to the genetics of Huntington�s disease.
Click here to listen to an audio recording of this article.
Although records of symptoms have been traced as far back as the Middle Ages, it was not until the late 1800s that physician George Huntington first documented the hereditary nature of the disease that bears his name. It was the late onset and hereditary character that distinguished HD from other diseases with similar symptoms. With so many recent breakthroughs in human genome research, we now know quite a bit about the genetic basis of Huntington�s disease. Having a working familiarity with the basic genetics of HD is key to understanding the inheritance and expression of the disease.
- What is a gene? Which parts of the genetic code correspond to genes?
- What are alleles? How many alleles can there be for a gene and how many copies does each individual have?
- How do genes determine physical traits? What does it mean to say that the HD gene is dominant?
- How are alleles inherited? What are the chances of inheriting the gene?
- Are my children at risk?
- There has never been any history of HD in my family...how could the HD allele just suddenly appear?
- If I have the gene, what does that mean? Will it definitely express itself, and if so, when will this happen?
Last Modified: 12-23-02
 |
An educational product of HOPES, not to be used in place of medical care.For more information about HOPES, click on the Logo. To contact HOPES with comments or questions, click here. |
|---|
You are HOPES site visitor number