14 Known Symptoms of Huntington’s Disease

Huntington’s disease is when there is a breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. Symptoms for the disease usually occurs in a person’s 30s or 40s, but can occur at a much younger age. When this happens, it is called juvenile Huntington’s disease. With the disease, it causes impairment in a person’s ability to function like a normal person.

They will have cognitive, psychiatric, thinking, and movement disorders. With juvenile Huntington’s disease, the symptoms occur much faster and differently. There are medications available to help manage the disease, but there is nothing to cure it. If you happen to know someone who could have Huntington’s disease there are some symptoms you will want to look out for. There are eight known symptoms of Huntington’s disease that you should be aware of. The symptoms differ for every person affected by the disease. Some people may not experience the symptoms in the exact same way.

1. Involuntary jerking movements

are one of the known symptoms of Huntington’s disease. A person may not notice it in the beginning, but when it happens often, that’s when medical attention needs to be sought. There could be an underlying disease that could be triggering the movement. Other people around the person with Huntington’s disease may not understand why they are jerking all of the time.

Most people are uneducated about the disease and don’t realize it’s something you can’t control. You may still be able to do your normal daily activities and work, but when you start jerking, you will have to stop what you’re doing to be safe. A person may not want to operate a motor vehicle with this condition since the jerking can happen at any time. Once you get treated for Huntington’s disease, the jerking may not occur as often because the medicine will relax the muscles.