It is almost time to join the ¼ Rotterdam Marathon 2023 and this year I am delighted to be raising funds for a great cause close to my heart: Huntington disease. The event will take place on Sunday 16th April and I will be running for Bontius Stichting, a Dutch foundation that supports research and strives towards the developing a cure for the disease and its symptoms.

Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease is an inherited brain disorder in which symptoms get progressively worse. The cause of Huntington's is a defect in a particular gene. This defect is hereditary, so one always gets the disease through one of the parents. In Huntington's disease, the abnormal gene causes proteins in the brain to clump together. As a result, the brain cells no longer transmit certain information and the brain cells do not receive enough nutrition. Eventually, the brain cells die. When a parent has Huntington's disease, there is a 50% chance that a child will also carry the disease.

The average age at which symptoms of the disease begin is 40. The disease manifests itself in different ways, both physical and mental symptoms are among them. The combination of symptoms and the speed at which the symptoms develop vary from person to person. Common physical symptoms include unexpected body movements, stiff muscles and difficulty speaking and swallowing. Behaviour also changes with Huntington's disease; people with the disease become angry, forget things, feel depressed and think and see strange things.

Unfortunately, there is no drug yet that stops this disease. When a person is diagnosed with Huntington's disease, the average life expectancy is about 10-15 years. During this time the symptoms get progressively worse. Fortunately, research is being done around the world on the disease and on drugs to stop the disease and/or stop the symptoms. One of the places doing research into Huntington's disease is the LUMC (Leiden University Medical Center). This research is done by the Bontius Foundation.

Bontius Foundation

The Bontius Foundation is part of the LUMC (Leiden University Medical Center) and does research on several diseases. One of them is Huntington's disease. The goal of research into Huntington's disease is to find a drug that will combat the disease and its symptoms with the ultimate goal of curing the disease completely. The research conducted by the Bontius Foundation helps to improve the treatment of Huntington's disease while also providing essential knowledge about the processes in the body that lead to Huntington's disease.

By donating to the Bontius Foundation with the hallmark "Huntington's Disease," I am ensuring that all funds directly benefit Huntington's Disease research.