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"There's a killer on the loose and it's my job to find it," said Nancy Wexler. That killer is Huntington's disease, or HD, an inherited illness caused by an abnormal gene.
To stop a killer you first have to track it down! Where in the human DNA was the damaged gene hiding? Nancy's hunt for the gene took her around the world, especially to rural Venezuela, where she searched for clues in blood samples donated by people with HD or at risk of getting it. It was a race to save lives—maybe even her own life, as Nancy herself is at risk for HD.
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| The symptoms of this genetic disease usually begin between the ages of 30 and 45 years, but they can start in childhood or old age. It starts with uncontrollable twitching or jerking movements. Mental or emotional problems also appear. Later, people have trouble swallowing, lose weight, waste away, and die. There's no cure or treatment. Each child of someone with HD has a 50/50 chance of inheriting it. |
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