Huntington's Disease: An Overview
Article Navigation:
- Introduction
- Definition of Huntington's Disease
- Huntington's Disease Symptoms
- Causes of Huntington's Disease
- Genetic Testing for Huntington's Disease
- Diagnosis of Huntington's Disease
- Huntington's Disease Treatments
- Caring for Someone with Huntington's Disease
- Huntington's Disease Prevention
- Huntington's Disease Research
- Summary and Conclusions
- Huntington's Disease References
Diagnosis of Huntington's Disease
How Do You Diagnose Huntington's Disease?
Doctors take several steps to diagnose Huntington's disease.[3] These steps include:
- A physical exam
- Questions concerning medical history and family medical history
- Questions about emotional or mental changes
If the doctor believes Huntington's is a possibility, the following tests may be done:
- Psychiatric exam
- Genetic testing of blood
- CT scan
- MRI
The CT scan and MRI tests find changes in brain structure and rule out other disorders.
This Elder Health Guide was published on August 1, 2009.
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