ROCHESTER, N.H. -- In a few short months, a mother and son from Rochester have been forced to learn all they can about a disease few have heard of. Now, they're hoping to teach others about it.
Chris Prinopolos, 29, first learned something was wrong when police pulled him over after suspecting him of driving drunk.
They took my license away for medical reasons, and then I found out why they took it away," he said. "It led me to find out what was going on here."
Police noticed that the former Marine was unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred. Hours of research by Prinopolos and his mother, Chy Weed, whittled the cause to Huntington's disease, so they were prepared when tests confirmed it.
They learned there is no treatment and no cure.
"When we went in, we weren't shocked to hear it was positive, but it was sad," Weed said.
Now, Prinopolos and Weed want to spread the word about the largely unknown genetic disease, which is passed from parent to child through a mutation in a normal gene. Huntington's disease will eventually steal all mobility, leading to death. In search of the genetic source in their family, they learned it came from Prinopolos' father, who died in his native Greece of the disease.
They eventually learned that his father's sister also had the disease and died at age 41. Prinopolos' father was 47 when he died.
Prinopolos has seen his condition gradually worsen, as he loses the balance to hike a mountain, the skill to be behind the wheel of a car and the dream of having children.
"I wanted to have a big family but not now, because if I have kids, they have a 50 percent chance of getting it, so I'll put a stop to that," Prinopolos said.
Huntington's disease usually appears between the ages of 30 and 50, but a juvenile form can strike in young children. Recently, scientists found the gene that causes the disease and are hopeful that a treatment and possibly even a cure can be found.
Prinopolos and his mother would eventually like to set up a support group in the Rochester area to help other families suffering with the disease.
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Disease Causes Mobility Problems
