Buildings to be lit blue and purple for Huntington’s campaign

ON Sunday afternoon the Cyprus museum, the archaeological museum, the castles of Limassol, Kolossi, Paphos and Larnaca as well as the Institute of Neurology and Genetics and the Nicosia, Strovolos, Limassol, and Sotira town halls will be lit in blue and purple as part of a public awareness campaign for Huntington’s disease.

The Institute of Neurology and Genetics said in a statement it supports the international effort to raise awareness of Huntington’s disease and is co-operating with Cypriot, European and world associations involved in various public awareness events.

Huntington’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is inherited, the statement said, adding that it is characterised by symptoms that lead to kinetic, emotional and mental dysfunction. Around the world there are about 10 cases per 100,000 people.

According to the latest epidemiological study conducted in 2015 at the institute, there are 42 patients with Huntington’s disease and 22 asymptomatic carriers of the Huntington gene mutation in Cyprus, all of whom from 19 families.

In Cyprus, the Institute of Neurology and Genetics is the only specialised body for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, and there is a multidisciplinary team for a holistic treatment of patients and their families in place.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.