Jelliffes research roused the interest of his college friend, Charles Davenport, who commissioned Elizabeth Muncey to produce the first field study on the East Coast of the United States of families with HD and to construct their pedigrees. Davenport used this information to document the variable age of onset and range of symptoms of HD; he claimed that most cases of HD in the US could be traced back to a handful of individuals. This research was further embellished in 1932 by P. R. Vessie, who popularized the idea that three brothers who left England in 1630 bound for Boston were the progenitors of HD in the US. The claim that the earliest progenitors had been established and eugenic bias of Munceys, Davenports, and Vessies work contributed to misunderstandings and prejudice about HD. Muncey and Davenport also popularized the idea that in the past, some with HD may have been thought to be possessed by spirits or victims of witchcraft, and were sometimes shunned or exiled by society. This idea has not been proven. Researchers have found contrary evidence; for instance, the community of the family studied by George Huntington openly accommodated those who exhibited symptoms of HD.The search for the cause of this condition was enhanced considerably in 1968, when the Hereditary Disease Foundation (HDF) was created by Milton Wexler, a psychoanalyst based in Los Angeles, California, whose wife Leonore Sabin had been diagnosed earlier that year with Huntingtons disease. The three brothers of Wexlers wife also had this disease.
Band keratopathy is a corneal disease derived from the appearance of calcium on the central cornea. This is an example of metastatic calcification, which by definition, occurs in the presence of hypercalcemia. Signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms of band keratopathy include eye pain and decreased visual acuity. Causes
Band keratopathy has several causes. These causes include uveitis, interstitial keratitis, superficial keratitis, phthisis, sarcoidosis, trauma, intraocular silicone oil, systemic diseases (high levels of calcium in the blood, vitamin D intoxication, Fanconis Syndrome, low levels of phosphorus in the blood, gout, milk-alkali syndrome, myotonic dystrophy, and chronic mercury exposure). Pathology
Band keratopathy is seen when there is calcification of the epithelial basement membrane, Bowmans membrane, and the anterior stroma with destruction of Bowmans membrane. The calcium salts are intracellular when the process is due to alteration of systemic calcium metabolism, whereas they are extracellular when due to local disease. Diagnosis
Band keratopathy is diagnosed by slit lamp examination of the eye. Treatment
Treatment is indicated if vision is threatened or if the eye is uncomfortable. It is important to recognize and treat any underlying condition. Improvement of vision may be obtained by scraping off the opacity. Topical disodium EDTA can be used as a chelating agent. It can also be removed with the excimer laser (phototherapeutic keratectomy). Other modalities include diamond burr and lamellar keratoplasty. References


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