What in Huntington's disease?
Huntington's disease is a rare, inherited disease that causes the progressive breakdown (degeneration) of nerve cells in the brain.
Huntington's disease has a broad impact on a person's functional abilities and usually results in movement, thinking (cognitive) and psychiatric disorders.
Huntington's disease symptoms can develop at any time, but they often first appear when people are in their 30s or 40s.
Medications are available to help manage the symptoms of Huntington's disease. But treatments can't prevent the physical, mental and behavioral decline associated with the condition.
Symptoms
Movement disorders
- Involuntary jerking or writhing movements (chorea)
- Muscle problems, such as rigidity or muscle contracture (dystonia)
- Slow or abnormal eye movements
- Impaired gait, posture and balance
- Difficulty with speech or swallowing
Cognitive disorders
- Difficulty organizing, prioritizing or focusing on tasks
- Lack of impulse control
- Difficulty in learning new information
- Slowness in processing thoughts or ''finding'' words
Psychiatric disorders
- Feelings of irritability, sadness or apathy
- Social withdrawal
- Insomnia
- Fatigue and loss of energy
- Frequent thoughts of death, dying or suicide
Other common psychiatric disorders include: Obsessive-compulsive disorder, mania, bipolar disorder.
If the condition develops before age 20, it's called juvenile Huntington's disease. When Huntington's develops early, symptoms are somewhat different and the disease may progress faster.
Symptoms of juvenile Huntington's disease:
- Difficulty paying attention
- Rapid, significant drop in overall school performance
- Behavioral problems
- Seizures
- Frequent falls or clumsiness
- Tremors or slight involuntary movements
- Contracted and rigid muscles that affect gait (especially in young children)
Source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/huntingtons-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20356117
