Huntington's Disease

Some conditions cause permanent damage to the nerve cells, such as Huntington’s disease, and this damage is irreversible and leads to severe symptoms.

Huntington’s disease

Huntington’s disease is an inherited disorder that causes progressive damage to the nerve cells, leading to their death. Huntington’s affects the nerve cells in the brain’s parts that are responsible for voluntary movement and memory.

The symptoms usually start to appear between the ages of 30 and 40, but they could appear before that, and it’s a rare condition that affects 3-7 people in every 100,000.

Causes of Huntington’s disease

• The cause of Huntington’s disease is a gene mutation.
• The risk of Huntington’s disease increases when there are affected people in the family, and the risk becomes 50% if one of the parents has it.

Symptoms of Huntington’s disease

The symptoms include the following:

Movement symptoms

• Uncontrolled movements like twitching and jerking, and this is called chorea.
• Walking problems.
• Ataxia and difficulty balancing.
• Muscles rigidity.
• Problems talking and swallowing.
• Slow or abnormal eye movement.
• Fatigue and lack of energy.

Mental symptoms

• Mood swings, depression, sadness, apathy, and irritation.
• Memory and focusing problems.
• Sleep problems.
• Isolation.
• Difficulty taking decisions.
• Difficulty learning new things.
• Slowness in processing thoughts and finding words.

In juvenile Huntington’s disease, the symptoms include the following: difficulty concentrating, study problems, aggressiveness, muscle rigidity, walking problems, twitching, frequent falling, and seizures.

In general, the symptoms develop in stages:

• The early stage: the symptoms are mild and start as mood swings, difficulty in complex thinking, and a few uncontrolled movements.
• The middle stage: daily, regular activities become hard, and the symptoms appear more frequently.
• The end stage: the patient is unable to do almost anything alone.

Complications of Huntington’s disease

• Dementia.
• Malnutrition, due to swallowing difficulty.
• inability to move without help.
• Infections like pneumonia.
• Physical injury from falling.

Diagnosis of Huntington’s disease

• Genetic test.
• Neurological test.
• Physical examination.
• Blood tests.
• Imaging tests.
• Psychological evaluation.

Management of Huntington’s disease

There isn’t a cure for Huntington’s, yet the symptoms can be managed by:

• Medications for movement and mental disorders.
• Psychological therapy.
• Physical therapy.
• Social support from family and friends.