I am 24 years old my grandmother died from hd when she was very young. My mother who is 44 had been diagnosed with the disease about 5 years ago. I am concerned about my own health as well as my mothers. Do you have any suggestions on where I should begin? My family really doesn't talk about this openly. I am taking charge of the situation on my own and I I need some support. I would like some ideas. Thank you.

Hi, Jenifer! I have a 23 year old daughter also thinking about testing. There are lots of ways to get support. You can contact the HDSA ( www.hdsa.org ) to find out if three are chapters near you. The chapters have support groups.

Online, you can join one of the Yahoo HD clubs (we have links on our chat rooms page). You can talk to people who have tested or are thinking about testing, or who have decided not to test and get their perspectives. This is also a good way to make online friends. I first started chatting exactly three years ago and have made such good friends - many of whom I later met at HDSA conventions and various get togethers - that I consider them to be family.

Take your time with the testing issue. The research news with animal models of HD is very encouraging and it may be somewhat less stressful to test after we start getting some positive results from clinical trials with people.