Huntington's Disease
Huntington's disease is a progressive, degenerative disease that causes certain nerve cells in your brain to waste away. As a result, you may experience uncontrolled movements, emotional disturbances and mental deterioration.
Huntington's disease is an inherited disease. Signs and symptoms usually develop in middle age. Younger people with Huntington's disease often have a more severe case, and their symptoms may progress more quickly. Rarely, children may develop this condition.
Medications are available to help manage the signs and symptoms of Huntington's disease, but treatments can't prevent the physical and mental decline associated with the condition.
Research for a Cure
Huntington's Disease research areas include:
Intrabody therapy
Gene silencing
Stem cell implants
Pharmacological
Treatment
Treatments for cognitive and psychological symptoms include antidepressants and sedatives, and low doses of antipsychotics. There is limited evidence for specific treatments aimed at controlling the chorea and other movement abnormalities, although tetrabenazine has been shown to reduce the severity of the chorea; it was approved in 2008 specifically for this indication.
Nutrition management is an important part of treatment; most people in the later stages of the disease need more calories than average to maintain body weight. Thickening agent can be added to drinks as swallowing becomes more difficult, as thicker fluids are easier and safer to swallow. The option of using a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (i.e., a feeding tube into the stomach) is available when eating becomes too hazardous or uncomfortable. A "stomach PEG" greatly reduces the chances of aspiration of food, which can lead to aspiration pneumonia,and also increases the amount of nutrients and calories that can be ingested, aiding the body's natural defenses.
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