Huntington's Disease & Magnetic Resonance

By seeing through the cranium, magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) can reveal brain structures, suggest how they perform particular functions and indicate what happens to them in illnesses like Huntington's disease.

Disease

• Originating in the central nervous system, Huntington's disease is marked by involuntary writhing or dance-like movements, gradually worsening emotional and behavioral disturbances and, eventually, dementia, according to "Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary."

Technique

• Using magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images, MRI scans can distinguish among soft tissues, notes the book "Psychology, Sixth Edition," by David Myers. MRI can show the brain damage characteristic of Huntington's disease, observes "Merck Manuals Online Medical Library."

Revelations

• In Huntington's disease, MRI scans show atrophy of the caudate nucleus inside the basal ganglia, notes the book "Medical-Surgical Nursing, Sixth Edition," by Joyce Black et al.

Diagnosis

• Even so, MRI plays little role in diagnosing Huntington's. Clinicians look mainly at symptoms and family history, note Black et al.

Genetic Testing

• Huntington's disease arises from a gene on chromosome 4, according to "Understanding Pathophysiology, Second Edition," by Sue Huether and Kathryn McCance. Identifying this gene confirms the diagnosis, thus rendering MRI scans diagnostically superfluous.