MODEL RELEASED. Huntington's chorea. Elderly woman in a wheelchair suffering from Huntington's chorea disease. This is a genetic disorder. It results in degeneration of the basal ganglia of the brain, which leads to chorea (jerky and involuntary movements) and dementia. The chorea affects the face, arms and trunk, and the patient grimaces and twitches. Although the disease may start in child- hood, symptoms do not usually appear until ages 35 to 50. An affected person may thus bear children before realizing they have the disease. Each child has a 50% chance of developing this rare disease. Huntington's chorea sufferers have a shortened lifespan. By 1995 there was yet no cure.