Video: Genetic Testing and Its Impact on One Life

Huntington’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is fatal. Though the age of onset of the disease varies, on average it begins to manifest itself around the age of 40. People with the condition lose motor skills, cognitive abilities, and undergo behavioral changes. Once the symptoms appear, people with the condition generally live 10 to 15 years. If one parent is a carrier of the disease, a child has a 50-50 chance of developing it. Seth Rotberg, whose mother had Huntington’s, recounts in a Ted Talk his decision to seek genetic testing and the impact that had on his life.