HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE

That this House notes that Huntington's disease is a rare neuropsychiatric illness that is hereditary, with the child of an affected parent having a 50 per cent chance of inheriting the mutant gene; further notes that Huntington's disease affects 12 people out of every 100,000 in the UK, which equates to over 7,600 people across the country; also notes that while some symptoms such as involuntary movement can be responded to with medication such as anti-depressants, there is no effective treatment or any cure for the disease; praises the work of the Huntington's Disease Association in supporting families across the country, including through providing Specialist Huntington's Disease Advisers in every county; notes that the Huntington's Disease Association also provides training and education to health and social care professionals due to the rarity and complexity of the condition; welcomes the work being undertaken through the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases to improve the lives of all those with rare diseases and their families; also welcomes the establishment of the Rare Diseases Translational Research Collaboration to support discoveries and research on rare diseases such as Huntington's disease; notes that the Huntington's Disease Association has called on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop guidelines for treating the disease; calls on NICE therefore to look at developing such guidelines so that the care of patients with the disease can be further improved; and further calls on the Government to do what it can to encourage the development of such guidelines.