Colombia is the second country with the highest number of Huntington's patients in the world. Huntington's disease is a rare neurodegenerative disease. Genetically dominant that usually appears during middle age and is characterized by involuntary motor movements, behavioral impairment and cognitive decline, leading to complete dependence and death.
The disease is caused by changes in a single gene, called Huntington's. Each child of an affected parent has a 50% chance of inheriting the mutated gene and thus developing the disease. In many cases, entire families are unable to care for themselves because so many family members are affected.
This disease has a high prevalence in many Latin American communities such as Colombia, Venezuela and Peru. The geographic isolation and individual histories of these communities have contributed to a prevalence of the disease that in some cases is 500-1,000 times higher than in other regions of the planet. The consequences of this high prevalence, and the poor conditions in which these communities live, have led to a situation that requires immediate attention. Poverty, ignorance and disease are a terrible combination that leads to inadequate health care, nutrition and living conditions.
