Robert is 29 years old. As he approaches his 30th birthday, he is increasingly aware of an unpleasant family heritage, Huntington Disease. His mother Martha began experiencing early signs of the disease (confusion, periods of depression, and unreasonable outbursts of anger) when she was 34 years old. She ultimately died of pneumonia, a complication of the disease, at age 50. As the disease progressed, she became increasingly incapacitated and she spent the last few years of her life in a nursing home.
Robert recently learned that there is a presymptomatic genetic test that could tell him whether he is carrying the Huntington Disease defect. He wonders whether he should have the test performed.