Thursday, 12 April 2012
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Huntington's Disease & Autism?
Not too much gets me down for too long. My mother in law just informed me she h found out that her grandmother died from Huntington's disease. So this would be the boys maternal great grandmother. Apparently, there is a 50/50 chance for any child to have the disease or to pass it on. To my knowledge my mother in law is fine.
Huntington's disease scares me more then autism, bipolar, open heart surgery, pacemakers, diabetes & factor 5 combined. While the others are scary enough, they are manageable. It's not easy.. but you can deal with them and survive. Huntinton's, there is no cure, no medicine, notechnology and there is a rapid decline. Starting around the age of 40, and rarely do the sufferers of HD last more then 15 yrs after they start displaying symptoms. 6% have juvenile HD.
So of course, I had to see if there was a link between autism & Huntington's disease. It looks like they are studying this currently. Apparently normal developing children who regress into autism have an increased chances in having Huntington's Disease as well. Which makes me question doctors. They say that there is no rhyme or reason for Autism. I would think that if they test our children for any of the other neurological/biological disorders that are associated with Autism when they first get diagnosed. They have a better understanding for the cause of Autism in some children.
I feel the same way with Factor 5 Leiden. Sure it's rare. But I think that it, as well as the other factor clotting disorders should be tested before a woman gets put on birth control. I mean if you know it's exist, and you know that birth control can cause clots or even death in women who are positive for these factors, one could assume that you should do blood work before you prescribe anything.
In May, the boys are going to be tested for Factor 5 Ledien, perhaps they can look for Huntington's Disease as well. I really hope I am worrying for nothing. We have more then enough of our share of problems.
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- About Me: Enjoying the beautiful chaos that fills my bitter sweet life. Blogger, painter, homeschooler & more. 2boys +1hubby = 3Aspies. Life gets a lil' crazy sometimes http://polyhobbymommy.com
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Comments (5)
"Apparently, there is a 50/50 chance for any child to have the disease or
to pass it on. To my knowledge my mother in law is fine."
If your husband doesn't have it your kids don't have it. It doesn't appear recessively, it's dominant. If you carry it, it shows. It doesn't skip generations if you mean that.
. The blue people in the picture are carriers the white ones are all unaffected.
And I am pretty sure that your grandparents in law are at an age where it should have shown or not, so I wouldn't worry
There are five childhood disabilities classed as "pervasive
developmental disorders" in the DSM-IV autism, aspergers, PDD-NOS,
Rhetts, and Childhood disintegrative disorder. The last two are often
called "regressive autism."
I do not know how this has changed in the DSM-V. But The genetic cause
of Rett's is known. Last I heard, CDD did not have any known cause, but
the symptoms do not match Huntingtons if I recall correctly.
As for the three other PDD's they are the ones most often called the
"autism spectrum" because they really do shade one into the other, and
researchers are always finding new genes that are linked to them. It
seems more and more likely that no single gene will ever be identified
as being the sole cause of ASD's, and environmental causes are always
being proposed but no culprit ever stands the test of time and science. These are also the ones that are being diagnosed more frequently, especially the ones with more mild impairments.
This mystery of the "exact cause" however intriguing it may be is
nonetheless a distraction from the daily lives of autistic people. In the special ed system, autistics face the same devaluation and educational neglect as students with very different impairments. And outside of it their access to mainstream education is under constant threat. And of course once autistics become adults everyone forgets they exist.
@PocketfulOfDreams@xanga - Yeh I know. My MIL is actually younger then my parents, and are the same age as my siblings. I would assume, if she had it she would have or would be just now showing the signs. It was just upsetting hear after what just happened to me a few a weeks ago.
Ian is going to be tested at his next appt.
@NeverSubmit@xanga - I know you are right. And while I am aware the "what" doesn't effect our day to day lives, it still makes me curious.
I get the question a lot. "Two boys, with Aspergers? What do you think caused it" What's worse is pitty or insincere pitty at that.
I don't really think asperger syndrome is a disease or disorder, it's a variation in the population