Huntington's Disease (HD) is a fatal, genetic, degenerative brain disorder that slowly robs individuals of their ability to speak, walk and reason. In adults, the disease progresses slowly, and frequently there is a 10-20 year life span from the time of onset until death. Sadly, the majority of individuals spend half of those years in a nursing home. The results in children, though less common, are even more devastating as their life span is less than half of that of affected adults. Typical onset is between 30-50 years of age, the prime of life.

Current estimates are that 1 in 10,000 people in the United States have HD, but the devastating effects of the disease touch as many as 1 in 1,000 Americans. It is a "family disease" not just because it is inherited from a parent (each child has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the defect gene), but it profoundly affects the entire family emotionally, socially and financially. HD like Alzheimer and Parkinson's takes the person away from their loved ones and the rest of the world long before they die. There is currently no effective cure or treatment to delay the effects of the disease.