Progress and Problems in Huntington's Disease

Abstract

Recent advances in molecular genetics have enabled the gene for Huntington's Disease to be localized to the short arm of chromosome 4. This should eventually lead to the identification of the precise genetic defect responsible for HD, and may facilitate the development of a treatment for the disorder. In the meantime, the discovery of a genetic marker has also made it possible to identify carriers of the gene long before the development of symptoms. The practical and ethical problems encountered with predictive testing for HD may be applicable to many other late-onset diseases, as progress in research leads to the much wider availability of genetic linkage markers.