HOPES For Kids (Non-Flash, Part 4)
"Bryan's Dad Has Huntington's Disease"

An Illustrated Introduction to HD, For Kids & Families

Scenes 9-12

The doctor replied, “There are a lot of different things that can cause these kinds of problems, so I will need to find out some more information.” She went on to ask Bryan’s dad about many different things, including how old he was and if any of his family members ever had a disease.
          Bryan’s dad replied, “Well, I am 35 years old and my mom passed away when I was 27 from something called Huntington’s disease.”

Then Bryan heard his dad say this, he asked the doctor, “What is Huntington’s disease?”
          The doctor replied, “Well Bryan, Huntington’s disease is a disease that can cause a lot of changes in the way someone moves, thinks, and feels emotions. These changes start to show up usually when the person is between 30 and 50 years old. The disease is generally passed down through families. Just like when you flip a coin and you have a 50% chance of the coin landing on ‘tails,’ a parent who has Huntington’s disease has a 50% chance of passing it on to his or her child. Both men and women can get the disease and it occurs all around the world, although it is generally very rare.”

Bryan’s dad asked, “So how do these changes come about?”
          The doctor replied, “Well, the brain is made up of millions of small living cells called nerve cells and these basically allow us to do everything we do, from talking and reading to walking and even throwing a baseball. In people with Huntington’s disease, many nerve cells are damaged in certain parts of their brain called the basal ganglia. Healthy nerve cells in these parts of the brain help with making the smooth movements that we normally make when we do things like walking or playing catch. So when these nerve cells are damaged, this can lead to a lot of problems with movement.”

Bryan asked, “What is wrong with the nerve cells? Why are they damaged?”
          The doctor replied, “The problem actually exists down within the nerve cells in tiny, microscopic structures called genes. The word sounds the same as the jeans you wear on your legs, but these genes inside the cells work in a completely different way. They contain a special kind of information in the form of DNA. Have you heard about DNA?"

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Last Modified: 10-24-04

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