Huntington's Disease Symptoms

Huntington's disease is an uncommon hereditary neurological disease which causes the abnormal death of brain cells. Huntington's disease is also known as HD and used to be known as Huntington's chorea. This disease affects around 1 in 10,000 people of Western European descent and 1 in 1,000,000 of African and Asian descent. Huntington's disease is said to be a progressive disorder, which means that the symptoms will worsen with time.

Huntington's disease is carried forward from one generation to the next. If the parent has the mutated genetic disorder which causes Huntington's disease, their children will each have a 50-50 chance of inheriting the gene. Huntington's disease is normally hereditary, meaning it is inherited, but, in rare occasions, an individual may develop the disease with no family history. This disease is thought to be caused by a genetic mutation during the development of sperm. Symptoms of Huntington's disease usually develop later in a person's life, but it is not unheard of for them to occur earlier in life. If the symptoms of the disease develop before the age of 20, it is known as juvenile Huntington's disease, or juvenile HD.

Symptoms of the disease include uncontrollable movements, known as chorea, as well as balance problems and uncontrollable facial movements. Impaired speech and problems in normal swallowing can also occur. Depression and personality disorder are other symptoms of Huntington's disease, as well as dementia in late stages. Juvenile Huntington's disease symptoms are commonly compared to Parkinson's disease. Stiffness and rigidity of muscle tissues can occur in adult onset Huntington's disease, but are more common in juvenile Huntington's disease patients. Other juvenile Huntington's disease symptoms include a decline in school performance, changes in handwriting, as well as behavior problems and seizures.



The symptoms of Huntington's disease will worsen over time to the point where patients will need full-time care eventually. The acute progression of juvenile Huntington's disease is usually faster than adult onset HD. Diagnosing Huntington's disease includes in depth medical histories of both the patient and the family of the patient. Genetic blood tests can also be done. For patients who are at risk for Huntington's disease but not yet showing symptoms, a presymptomatic test can be done to determine if they will develop the disease at some point. Treatments for Huntington's disease cannot slow or stop its progression, but they can help manage it and minimize complications. Some types of medications can help to control the involuntary movements and depression associated with the disease. Speech therapy can gradually improve speech and help with swallowing to allow for proper nutrition. Physical therapy and proper exercise can help keep muscles strong and combat depression.

However, people with Huntington's disease are understandably at high risk of developing poor oral health. This is primarily due to the reason that they regularly suffer from uncontrollable muscular movements. These types of patients do not have full of their arms and hands and thus making self-brushing for their teeth virtually impossible. Adding to this symptoms are the instances where Huntington's disease patients can have muscle twitching and spasms on the face and thus losing control of facial movements. This condition effectively makes brushing even more difficult.

• Matt Thompson
• 21/02/2009, 4:59 PM
• 0 Comments