"Winston-Salem, NC, April 27, 2015 – The North Carolina Chapter of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) announced today that volunteers are raising awareness of this devastating genetic neurological disease through their community Team Hope Walk!
Please join the NC Chapter at the Team Hope Walk in Winston-Salem, NC, being held on Saturday, May 9, 2015, at Bailey Park, 575 N Patterson Ave, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. All proceeds support HDSA’s mission to improve the lives of people affected by HD and their families. Registration begins at 10:00 am and the walk kick-off begins at 11:00 am. The NC Chapter is asking for support from the community to become a sponsor, form a team, walk as an individual, donate products or volunteer to coordinate the event activities. Anyone who registers and raises $25 online by May 5th will be entered into a drawing for 2 movie tickets, compliments of Carmike Cinemas. Anyone who registers and raises $100 online by May 5th will be entered into a drawing for 2 tickets to the Carolina Panthers vs New England Patriots on Aug 28 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Huntington's disease (HD) is a devastating, hereditary, degenerative brain disorder that results in a loss of cognitive, behavioral and physical control, and for which there is presently no cure. HD slowly diminishes the affected individual's ability to walk, think, talk and reason. Symptoms usually appear in an individual between 30 and 50 years of age and progress over a 10 to 25 year period. Cases of juvenile HD have been diagnosed in children as young as two years of age. Eventually, a person with HD becomes totally dependent upon others for his or her care. More than 30,000 people in the United States are currently diagnosed with HD. Each of their siblings and children has a 50 percent risk of developing the disease, therefore 250,000 are at risk. Although medications can relieve some symptoms in certain individuals, research has yet to find a means of conquering or even slowing the deadly progression of HD.
The research being done on Huntington's Disease is at the forefront of genetic science. Recently, Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, commemorated the 20th Anniversary of the discovery of the gene that causes HD. He spoke about how this landmark collaborative effort helped pave the way for the Human Genome Project. Twenty years later, HD research continues to provide valuable insights that are guiding the development of potential treatments for HD and many other genetic diseases.
The Team Hope Walk is HDSA’s largest national grassroots fundraising event, which takes place in over 100 cities across the U.S and has raised over $4 million for HD since its inception in 2007. Thousands of families, friends, co-workers, neighbors and communities walk together each year to support HDSA’s mission to improve the lives of people affected by HD and their families. To volunteer or support the Team Hope Walk, please contact Lauren Holder at 336-926-0917 or by e-mailing laurenholder@gmail.com.
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