Hauntington Disease
Huntington disease
Name
Institute
Huntington Disease Introduction Shortage of information about Huntington disease (HD) and its non-clinical management inveigled me into a quest for journal articles about this comparatively rare illness. Having pored over scores of Journal of Clinical Nursing Issues, I stumbled across the article entitled “Exploring supportive care for individuals affected by Huntington disease and their family caregivers in a community setting”. It immediately arrested my attention, as it touched upon the possible implications of HD for the affected persons, their family members (including those, who could inherit the illness genetically) and caregivers. This article is a collaborative work of the three authors from the University of Plymouth, namely Beverley Soltysiak, Penny Gardiner and Heather Skirton. It was published first on 10 July, 2008. Summary of the article According to McDonald (2003), Huntington disease, formerly known as Huntington’s chorea, is a chronic neurodegenerative condition caused by a genetic mutation in the Huntingtin gene, situated on chromosome 4”. The article traverses implications and supportive care approaches to the individuals, who suffer from Huntington disease. Authors argue that different approaches should be applied to various age categories of the affected. The difference in symptoms may be subtle at first glance, but younger individuals, affected by the long-term conditions, find facilities for their senior counterparts unsuitable. Important role in this regard belongs to the psychological aspects of the disease. People struck by HD tend to lead sedentary and recluse life. Huntington disease affects badly humans’ perception and cognition, renders their speech unintelligible, and makes them helpless to some extent in general. The far-reaching implications include unsteady gait and severe depressions, which
Name
Institute
Huntington Disease Introduction Shortage of information about Huntington disease (HD) and its non-clinical management inveigled me into a quest for journal articles about this comparatively rare illness. Having pored over scores of Journal of Clinical Nursing Issues, I stumbled across the article entitled “Exploring supportive care for individuals affected by Huntington disease and their family caregivers in a community setting”. It immediately arrested my attention, as it touched upon the possible implications of HD for the affected persons, their family members (including those, who could inherit the illness genetically) and caregivers. This article is a collaborative work of the three authors from the University of Plymouth, namely Beverley Soltysiak, Penny Gardiner and Heather Skirton. It was published first on 10 July, 2008. Summary of the article According to McDonald (2003), Huntington disease, formerly known as Huntington’s chorea, is a chronic neurodegenerative condition caused by a genetic mutation in the Huntingtin gene, situated on chromosome 4”. The article traverses implications and supportive care approaches to the individuals, who suffer from Huntington disease. Authors argue that different approaches should be applied to various age categories of the affected. The difference in symptoms may be subtle at first glance, but younger individuals, affected by the long-term conditions, find facilities for their senior counterparts unsuitable. Important role in this regard belongs to the psychological aspects of the disease. People struck by HD tend to lead sedentary and recluse life. Huntington disease affects badly humans’ perception and cognition, renders their speech unintelligible, and makes them helpless to some extent in general. The far-reaching implications include unsteady gait and severe depressions, which
References: MacDonald, M. E., Gines, S., Gusella, J. F. & Wheeler, V. C. (2003). Huntington’s disease. Neuromolecular Medicine, 4. Miles, M., Huberman, A. (1994). Qualitative data analysis – an expanded sourcebook. (2nded.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Soltysiak, B., Gardiner, P., Skirton, H. (2008). Exploring supportive care for individuals affected by Huntington disease and their family caregivers in a community setting. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17, 7b, 226-234.