Abstract
Since 1994 a Genetic Counselling Center devoted to assisting to subjects at risk from HD has been operative in Malta.
Data evaluated in 1994 by this Center, represents, on the whole, 23 family nuclei. Forty living subjects with HD were found (26 males and 14 females) as well as 185 subjects at risk from HD.
It appears that Malta is an HD “focus”, with a disease incidence of 11.8 out of 100.000 inhabitants. This value appears to be high with respect to the world average incidence of 5.0 (Tibben, 1993) and to other values found in the Mediterranean area.
The origin of the disease on the island would appear to be “local”. The founder(s) can be traced far back in time, and probably brought this disease to the island through the maritime traffic, even if the concomitance of local mutations is not excluded.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Bolt J.M.W. (1970)Huntington's chorea in West of Scotland. Br. J. Psychiatry. 116:259–270.
Caro A.J. (1977)Huntington's chorea: a clinical problem in East Anglia, PhD Thesis dissertation. University of East Anglia. In: Harper P.S. (1992). The epidemiology of Huntington's disease. Hum. Genet. 89: 365–376.
Cassar P. (1967)Huntington's chorea with special reference to its incidence in Malta. St. Luke's Hospital Gazette. 6:3–13.
Cendrowski W. (1964)Some remarks on the geography of Huntington's chorea. Neurology. 14:839–843.
Central Office of Statistics of Malta (1994)Demographic Review of the Maltese Islands. 1993. Central Office of Statistics of Malta. pp. 1–3.
Di Maio L., Boiano S., Squitieri F., Napolitano G., Cocozza S., Campanella G., Battistuzzi G. (1992)Genetic linkage analysis and presymtomatic testing in Huntingto's disease. First report in Italy. Acta Neurologica Napol. 14:524–529.
Frendo H. (1989)Malta's quest for indipendence. Reflections on the course of Maltese history. Valletta Publishing. La Valletta. pp 205–207.
Frontali M., Malaspina P., Rossi C., Jacopini A.G., Vivona A.G., Pergola M.S., Palena A., Novelletto A. (1990)Epidemiological and linkage studies on Huntington's disease in Italy. Human Genet. 85:165–170.
Govoni V., Pavoni M., Granieri E., Carreras M., Malagu S., Gandini E., Del Senno L. (1988)Huntington's chorea in the province of Ferrara from 1971 to 1987. Riv. Neurol. 58: 235–240.
Grassivaro Gallo P., Buhagiar M., Cuschieri A., Cannizzo M.G. (1998).Assistenza famigliare per la corea di Huntington (HD): il caso di Malta. In: M. Cusinato & N. Saviolo (eds.).Riproduzione a rischio. Ed. Boringhieri, Turin.
Groppi C., Barontini F., Braco L., Inzitari D., Amadulli L., Fratiglioni L. (1986)Huntington's chorea: a prevalence study in the Florence area. Acta Psychiatr. Scandinava. 74: 266–268.
Gudmundsson K.R. (1969)Prevalence and occurrence of some neurological diseases in Iceland. Acta Neurol. Scand. 45:114–118.
Jacopini G.A. (1998)Test predittivo della malattia di Huntington. In: M. Cusinato & N. Saviolo (eds.).Riproduzione a rischio, Ed. Boringhieri, Turin.
Husquinet H. (1970)La chorée de Huntington dans les 4 provinces belges. In: Warot P (ed.): CR 67E Congr. Psychiatr. Neurol. Langue Franc. Masson, Paris. pp. 1079–1118.
Leger J.M., Ronauil R., Vallat J.N. (1974)Huntington's chorea in Limousin: statistical and clinical study. Rev. Med. Limoges. 5: 147–153.
MacMillan J.C., Snell R.G., Tyler A., Houlihan G.D., Fenton J.P., Lazarou L.P., Shaw D.J., Harper P.S. (1993)Molecular analysis and clinical correlations of the Huntington's disease mutation. Lancet 342:954–958.
Mahoney J. (1995) Malta. Le Guide del Gabbiano, Florence.
Mainini P., Lucci B., Guidetti D., Casoli C. (1982)Prevalenza della malattia di Huntington nelle Province di Reggio Emilia e Parma. In: Harper P.S. (1992) The epidemiology of Huntington's disease. Hum. Genet. 89:365–376.
Mattsson B. (1974)Huntington's chorea in Sweden. Prevalence and genetic data. Acta Psychiat. Scand. 255:211–255.
Nevin N., Morrison P. (1990: personal communication). In: Harper P.S. (1992)The epidemiology of Huntington's disease. Hum. Genet. 89:365–376.
Ordonez-Calcedo A. (1970)Enfermedad de Huntington en la provincia de Cadiz. Estudio epidemiologico y familiar. Rev. Clin. Esp. 119(4):333–344.
Palo J., Somer H., Ikonen E.M., Karila L., Perltonen L. (1987)Low prevalence of Huntington's in Finland. Lancet. 8562 (2):805–806.
Petit H. (1970)La maladie de Huntington. In: Warot P. (ed.) CR 67E Congr. Psychiat. Neurol. Langue Franc. Masson, Paris. pp. 901–1058.
Przuntek H., Steigerwald A. (1987)Epidemiologische Untersuchung zur Huntington's Erkankung im Einzugsgebeit der Würzburger Neurologischen Universitätsklinik unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der unterfränkischen Raumes. Nervenarzt. 58: 424–427.
Saugstad L., Odegard O. (1986)Huntington's chorea in Norway. Psychol. Med. 16: 39–48.
Sepcic J. Antonelli L., Sepcic-Grahovas D., Materljan E. (1989)Epidemiology of Huntington's disease in Rijeka district, Yugoslavia. Neuroepidemiology 8:105–108.
Simpson S.A., Johnston A.W. (1989)The prevalence and patterns of care of Huntington's chorea in Granpian. Br. J. Psychiatry. 155:799–804.
Tibben A. (1993)What is Knowledge but Grieving? On Psychological Effects of Presymptomatic DNA-testing for Huntington's Disease. Koninklijke Bibliotheek. Den Haag. pp. 10–26.
Walker D.A., Harper P.S., Wells C.E.C., Tyler A., Davies K., Newcombe R.G. (1981)Huntington's chorea in South Wales: a genetic and epidemiological study. Clin. Genet. 19:213–221.
Zölliker A. (1949)Die Chorea Huntington in der Schweiz. Arch. Neurol. Psychiatr. 64:448–459.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gassivaro Gallo, P., Buhagiar, M., Cuschieri, A. et al. Huntington's chorea (HD) in Malta: Epidemiology and origins. Int. J. Anthropol. 14, 115–125 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02443891
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02443891