Science of HD: Overview

Check out the following subcategories to narrow down your search!

HD and the Brain

Huntington’s disease is a neurodegenerative condition, meaning that symptoms are caused by the death of nerve cells in the brain. This section of the website gives an introduction to the brain, focusing on the changes caused by HD. Check out the HOPES Brain Tutorial for an illustrated tour of the brain; look at our “Neurobiology” section for an in-depth look at the cells that make up the brain; go to the “Other Neurodegenerative Conditions” section to learn about diseases that share some similarities to HD.

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HD Basics

Huntington’s disease is a genetic disease whose symptoms is caused by the death of nerve cells in the brain. This section of the website gives an overview of HD as well as the symptoms that HD causes. Go to the “HD in a Nutshell” subsection to read an overview of Huntington’s disease; go to the “Symptoms” subsection to read more about the symptoms related to HD.

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Research and HD

Welcome to the Research and HD section of the website! In the past decade, intensive research efforts have given scientists a much better understanding of how HD damages the brain. With this improved insight, researchers throughout the world are actively investigating and testing ways to delay, stop, or reverse the course of the disease.

This section is divided into 5 groups. The “Conferences and Conventions” section contains updates from HD conventions around the world. The “Research Basics” section describes how researchers study HD; the “Research Updates” section talks about some of the discoveries that have been made, and future areas that scientists might study in the future. The “HD Scientists” section gives some insight into the work that some individuals are doing, and the “Research Institutions” section talks about some major sites of HD research.

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