Episode 37. Chaos - The Erratic Choreography of Huntington's Disease

In this episode, I explore one of the most visually dramatic neurological disorders, along with its diverse and debilitating symptoms. I explored the history of the disease, describing how George Huntington came to know about it, and how his paper documenting the involvement of a Long Island pedigree in New York served as a landmark in the documentation of the disease. The podcast also used this pedigree to illustrate the strong familial tendency of Huntington’s disease. I

use graphic patient anecdotes, including that of musician Woody Guthrie, to illustrate the onset and progression of the disease, its strongly familial inheritance, and the disruption it causes to relationships and families. I similarly explore such patient memoirs as that of Melanie Pearson, titled Somebody Up There Likes Me, of Sandy Sulaiman, titled Learni ...