A Look At Huntington’s Disease
Couldn't help but look this up--and then get floored by the astrology...Just over 153 years ago, Dr George Huntington published a paper describing the horrible hereditary disease that bears his name in clear, concise medical terms.
This was the result of observations made by Huntington's father and grandfather--also physicians--treating generations of families living in East Hampton on Long Island, NY.
Now, with a Neptune Return nigh, Pluto square Pluto by sign, and *a partile Jupiter Return*, a medical team from University College London has announced a successful gene therapy treatment that shows a 75% slowing of clinical onset of the disease--and opening the door in the future to hopefully preventing symptoms from ever emerging in the first place. We don't have exact timings, so I am comparing 2 noon-day charts, but even then, the planetary line-ups are striking.
The inner wheel shows the publication of "On Chorea"--written by Dr George Huntington's at the age of 22 upon receiving his medical degree from Columbia University. The disease was initially called 'Huntington's Chorea' with the latter half of the name shifting to 'Disease' in the 1960's
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The outer wheel more or less reflects the news reported in the last 24 hours of UCL's medical team announcing their success in their pioneering treatment to slow the ravages of the disease (said to be like a combination of dementia, Parkinson's, and motor-neurone disease).
In addition to the 2 outer planet returns ( I appreciate the Neptune Return is only by sign), check out Saturn in the present-day chart conjuncting Venus in the Chorea chart--literally the slowing of outer manifestations of the disease.
And being obsessed with lunar nodes, I can't help but notice the Direct Nodal Square (my terminology to show it's the square after a Nodal Return)--I take Nodal Squares to be times of a lot of action and breakthroughs (which can either be pleasant or not).
Other notable mentions: present-day Chiron conjunct the paper's Sun (in addition to the archetype of the 'wounded healer', I recently heard Chiron described as showcasing maverick qualities), present-day Mars in domicile opposite the paper's Mars in detriment, and a possible antiscia relationship between the paper's Venus and the treatment's Sun (the BBC describes the treatment as "a type of gene therapy given during 12 to 18 hours of delicate brain surgery").
I think the Jupiter in Cancer repeat is particularly poginant as Cancer as a sign can have connotations of home and family (being the domicile of the Moon), and Huntington's Disease is a genetic disorder caused by the passing of a faulty gene from parent to child.
And just to reiterate the point, George Huntington came from a family (Cancer again!) of physicians and it was their combined observations (Jupiter = knowledge/accumulated wisdom) that led to the ultimate classification of the disease as a discrete disorder.
And Neptune (I often think of ‘dissolving’ for Neptune, but I heard the astrologer Georgia Stathis say that she learned about Neptune as signifying dismemberment) in Aries (symbolising the head in The Zodaic Man) is interesting given that the disorder is a neurodengenerative one.
The genetic defect causes progressive degeneration and death of nerve cells, primarily in the basal ganglia and cortex, areas of the brain that control movement, thought, and emotion. This cell damage leads to a decline in motor control (resulting in uncontrollable movements like chorea), cognitive functions (memory, judgment, planning), and mental health (mood swings, depression, anxiety). You can read more here.
But then to note that one of the doctors was said to have remarked,"We never in our *wildest dreams* would have expected a 75% slowing of clinical progression!" seems to be an inverse echo of Neptune's return to the first sign of the zodiac.
It’s exciting news and let’s hope that it is not long before treatment can progress to a point where “earlier treatment could prevent symptoms from ever emerging.”