Huntington’s disease (HD) is a genetic disorder in which specific nerve cells in the brain degenerate. Symptoms include behavioral changes such as moodiness and irritability, cognitive changes such as impaired memory and executive function, and abnormal body movements.

There is no cure for Huntington’s disease, which affects about 30,000 people in the United States. People with the disease usually die within 15 to 20 years of onset of motor (movement) symptoms.

This harsh reality has inspired Nancy Downing, a postdoctoral fellow in clinical genetics nursing research at the University of Iowa’s College of Nursing, to reach out to these people in an attempt to help them function well for as long and as comfortably as possible.

“I can’t cure HD, but I will do what I can to help people live with it or delay the disease’s onset,” Downing said.

Downing’s dissertation research focused on how couples cope with noticeable changes created by Huntington’s disease. One person in the couple has had a positive test for the Huntington disease gene, but has not yet been diagnosed (also known as prodromal HD).

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*Republished with permission from the Graduate College’s Office of Postdoctoral Scholars (OPDS)