SA Huntington Disease Service at Flinders Medical Centre

The South Australian Huntington Disease Service is available statewide and is based at Flinders Medical Centre (FMC).

Services

  • Specialist Social Work service providing case management, counselling and education for people with Huntington disease, their carers, families, people 'at risk' of Huntington Disease and support services
  • Consultant Neurologist and Psychiatrist for assessment and symptom management
  • Predictive testing program for people ‘at risk’ of Huntington disease
  • Adult Clinical Geneticist for education where there is a new family diagnosis and predictive testing for people at risk.

Huntington Disease

Huntington Disease is an inherited condition that causes progressive damage (degeneration) to nerve cells in the brain. Usually an adult onset condition Huntington disease has a broad impact on a person’s functional abilities with three main types of symptoms; abnormal movements, disordered thinking and memory, emotional and behavioural changes.

Each child of a person with Huntington disease has a 50% chance of inheriting the the abnormal gene that causes the condition. People with a family history of Huntington disease may choose to undertake predictive testing to find out if they have inherited the abnormal gene.

The predictive testing program follows international guidelines, providing information and counselling to assist individuals to decide if they would like to have the predictive test and prepare for the results of such testing.

Referrals & contact details

For general enquiries, access to the service or referrals to Neurology and Psychiatry contact:

Social Workers
South Australian Huntington Disease Service
Repat Health Precinct, Daws Road, Daw Park SA 5041
Telephone: (08) 7117 5037
Fax: (08) 7117 5081
Email: Health.SAHuntingtonService@sa.gov.au

Referrals for predictive testing may be made to:

Adult Genetics Unit
Royal Adelaide Hospital
Level 8 (8F401.52; MDP 63), Port Road, Adelaide SA 5000
Telephone: (08) 7074 2697
Fax: (08) 8429 6112
Email: adultgenetics@sa.gov.au