Huntington's disease

American  

[huhn-ting-tuhnz di-zeez] / ˈhʌn tɪŋ tənz dɪˌziz /

noun

Pathology.

1. a hereditary disease of the central nervous system characterized by brain deterioration resulting in involuntary movement and unsteady gait, cognitive impairment and memory decline, and depression or other alterations in mood, with symptoms usually appearing in the fourth decade of life. HD

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Huntington's disease British  

/ ˈhʌntɪŋtən /

noun

1. Former name: Huntington's chorea.  a rare hereditary type of chorea, marked by involuntary jerky movements, impaired speech, and increasing dementia

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Etymology

Origin of Huntington's disease

Named after George S. Huntington (1850–1916), U.S. physician, who described it in 1872

Example Sentences

Prasad had reportedly been involved in the decision to request a new trial for uniQure’s experimental gene therapy for Huntington’s disease.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026

Huntington’s disease afflicts about 40,000 patients in the U.S., and there are no current treatments that slow progression.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026

Investors had rushed into the stock last September, when the company reported that AMT-130 slowed the progression of Huntington’s disease, an inherited condition that causes nerve cells in the brain to decay.

From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026

Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease occur when neurons gradually deteriorate and die.

From Science Daily • Oct. 14, 2025

In the 1980s, human geneticists begin to use these techniques to map and identify genes linked to diseases, such as Huntington’s disease and cystic fibrosis.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee