Huntington's disease - Healthdirect

What are the symptoms of Huntington's disease? · stiffness · rapid, involuntary movements of the fingers, limbs or facial muscles (called chorea). · reduced ... Huntington'sdiseaseaffectsthenervoussystem. PRINT SHARE shareviaFacebook shareviaTwitter shareviaEmail Thereisatotalof5errorsonthisform,detailsarebelow. Pleaseenteryourname Pleaseenteryouremail Youremailisinvalid.Pleasecheckandtryagain Pleaseenterrecipient'semail Recipient'semailisinvalid.Pleasecheckandtryagain AgreetoTermsrequired Thankyouforsharingourcontent.Amessagehasbeensenttoyourrecipient'semailaddresswithalinktothecontentwebpage. Yourname:isrequired Error:Thisisrequired Youremail:isrequired Error:Thisisrequired Error:Notavalidvalue Sendto:isrequired Error:Thisisrequired Error:Notavalidvalue Error:Thisisrequired IhavereadandagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicyisrequired. Onthispage WhatisHuntington'sdisease? WhatarethesymptomsofHuntington'sdisease? WhatcausesHuntington'sdisease? WhenshouldIseemydoctor? CanHuntington'sdiseasebeprevented? Resourcesandsupport RelatedinformationonAustralianwebsites WhatisHuntington'sdisease? Huntington'sdiseaseisaninheritedconditionthataffectsthenervoussystem.AlthoughHuntington'sdiseasecanoccuratanyage,symptomsoftendonotappearuntilthemiddleage. Huntington'sdiseaseisprogressive,meaningitworsensovertime.Whilethereisnocure,treatmentcanalleviatesymptomsandsupportisavailable. WhatarethesymptomsofHuntington'sdisease? Huntington'sdiseasecanaffectsomeonephysically,theirthinkingandtheirbehaviour.Mostpeoplestartexperiencingsymptomsasyoungadultsorinmiddleage,thoughsomepeopledeveloparapidlyprogressiveformofthediseasebeforetheageof20. Physicalsymptomsinclude: stiffness rapid,involuntarymovementsofthefingers,limbsorfacialmuscles(calledchorea).Thiscanprogressfrommildmovementstoseverethrashingasthediseaseprogresses reducedmovementsoftheeyes lossoffinemotorcoordination,suchaswriting changesinbalanceandco-ordination lossofcontrolofbodilyfunctionssuchasswallowingandspeaking fatigue Cognitive(thinking)changesmayinclude: difficultyconcentrating impairedthinking,planningandorganisation reducedshort-termmemory beingimpulsiveordisinhibited fixatingonthoughts,ideasorfeelings(knownasperseveration) difficultycommunicating(speakingorfindingswords) difficultylearningnewthings Emotionalchangesmayinclude: changesinmood personalitychanges lossofdriveandinitiative impulsiveness obsessivecompulsivebehaviour anxiety depression irritabilityandaggression lossofempathy changesinpersonalhygiene psychosis Inthelaterstatesofthedisease,someonewithHuntington'sdiseasemaydevelopdifficultyswallowing,leadingtoweightlossandariskofchoking.Theyareatincreasedriskoffallsordevelopingpneumonia,andmaydevelopincontinence. WhatcausesHuntington'sdisease? Huntington'sdiseaseiscausedbyafaultygenethatsomeoneisbornwith.Someoneonlyneedstoinheritthegenefromoneparent.Ifsomeonehasthegene,thereisa1in2chancethattheywillpassitontotheirchild. Ifachilddoesnotinheritthegene,theywillnotdevelopHuntington'sdiseaseorpassitontotheirownchildrenorgrandchildren. Thediseaseresultsinthedeathofbraincells.Thepartsofthebrainaffectedarethefrontallobeandbasalganglia,whichareresponsibleformovement,thinking,personalityandemotions. IllustrationshowingthedifferenceinstructureofanormalbrainandonewithHuntington'sdisease. WhenshouldIseemydoctor? IfyouhaveabloodrelativewhohasbeendiagnosedwithHuntington'sdisease,youcanhaveagenetesttoseeifyoucarrythegene. Ifyouare18yearsoldorolder,talktoyourdoctoraboutwhetheryouneedtohavethetest. FINDAHEALTHSERVICE—TheServiceFindercanhelpyoufinddoctors,pharmacies,hospitalsandotherhealthservices. ASKYOURDOCTOR—Preparingforanappointment?UsetheQuestionBuilderforgeneraltipsonwhattoaskyourGPorspecialist. HowisHuntington’sdiseasediagnosed? IfthereisachanceyouhaveHuntington'sdisease,yourdoctorwilltalktoyouindetailaboutyourfamilyhistoryandlookforanysignsorsymptomsofthedisease.TheymayorderanMRIorCTscantolookatthebrain,butthesemaynotbeveryusefulintheearlystages. Othertestsmayinclude: neurologicalteststolookatthenerves psychologicalteststocheckmentalhealth neuropsychologicalteststocheckmemory,languageandreasoning Genetictesting,donewithabloodtest,canbeusedtoconfirmadiagnosis HowisHuntington'sdiseasemanaged? ThereisnocureoreffectivetreatmentforHuntington'sdisease.Itisusuallymanagedbyateamincludingadoctor,neurologist,psychiatrist,dietitian,socialworkerandpalliativecarespecialist. Optionsinclude: physiotherapy,occupationaltherapyandspeechtherapy medicationtoalleviatechangesinmood medicationtohelpwithjerkymovementsanddifficultyswallowing financialsupportthroughCentrelink respitecare,athomeorinresidentialfacilities supportedaccommodationincludingprivateresidentialfacilities,sharedsupportedaccommodation,accommodationforyoungpeoplewithHuntington'sdisease,andresidentialagedcare ThebestwayforsomeonewithHuntington'sdiseasetokeepwellisbykeepingphysicallyandmentallyactiveandlookingaftertheirmentalhealth,forexamplebyusingmindfulnessormeditation. ManypeoplewithHuntington’sdiseasefindithelpfultoplanforthefuture.Consideringfinancial,legalandcarearrangementscangivepeoplewithHuntington'sdiseaseasenseofempowerment,andtalkingopenlywithlovedonescanbearelief. SometimespeoplewithHuntington'sdiseasedonotnoticetheirsymptomsprogressing,anditcanbedifficultforfamilyandcarerstounderstandwhatishappening.Supportservicesareavailabletohelpcarers,includingrespitecareandsupportedaccommodationoptions. CanHuntington’sdiseasebeprevented? IfyoucarrythegeneforHuntington’sdisease,youcantalktoyourdoctororageneticcounselloraboutprenatalgenetictestingorpre-implantationgeneticdiagnosis.Itisbesttohavegeneticcounsellingbeforeconsideringapregnancy.YoucanfindmoreinformationinthisbookletfromtheCentreforGeneticsEducation. Resourcesandsupport TherearedifferentHuntington’ssupportorganisationsineachstateandterritory: Huntington’sNSWandACT—0298749777 Huntington’sQueensland—0730643222 Huntington’sSAandNT—0424062121 Huntington’sTasmania—0364313403 Huntington’sVictoria—1800063501 Huntington'sWA—0864577599 Learnmorehereaboutthedevelopmentandqualityassuranceofhealthdirectcontent. Lastreviewed:May2021 BackToTop Searchoursitefor GeneticDiseases Dementia Generalsearchresults Resultsformedicalprofessionals Topresults Huntington'sDisease Huntingtonsdiseaseisaninheriteddiseaseofthebrainthataffectsthenervoussystem. ReadmoreonQueenslandHealthwebsite Huntington'sDisease-BrainFoundation HuntingtonsDiseaseDescriptionNamedaftertheAmericanphysicianwhoinitiallydescribedtheinheritednatureoftheconditionin1872 ReadmoreonBrainFoundationwebsite Huntington'sDisease-LabTestsOnlineAU Huntington'sdiseasesistheprogressivedegenerationofneuronsleadingtoinvoluntarymovementsaccompaniedbycognitivedeclineandbehaviouralchanges. ReadmoreonLabTestsOnlineAUwebsite Huntington'sdisease-BetterHealthChannel betterhealth.vic.gov.au ReadmoreonBetterHealthChannelwebsite Speechpathology Speechpathologistsareuniversitytrainedprofessionalswhoworkwithpeopleofallagestodiagnose,manageandtreatcommunicationandswallowingproblems. ReadmoreonWAHealthwebsite Geneticconditions|CerebralPalsyAlliance ThousandsofAustralianshavegeneticconditionsthatcausephysicalorintellectualdisabilities.Someoftheseconditionsareinherited,whileothersarecausedbyrandomalterationinoneormoregenesintheperson’sbody. ReadmoreonCerebralPalsyAlliancewebsite Geneticcounselling Geneticcounsellingmayberecommendedforpeoplewhohaveahistoryofhereditarydisorders.Findoutwhyyoumightneedcounsellingandwhattoexpect. ReadmoreonPregnancy,Birth&Babywebsite Dementia(Non-Alzheimertype)-BrainFoundation Dementia(Non-Alzheimertype)(SeealsoAlzheimersDisease)DescriptionThetermdementiaisusedtodescribethepatternofdeterioratingintellectualfunctionparticularly(althoughnotexclusively)intheelderlythatcanoccurasaresultofvariousneurologicaldisorders ReadmoreonBrainFoundationwebsite Dementia-differenttypes-BetterHealthChannel betterhealth.vic.gov.au ReadmoreonBetterHealthChannelwebsite Clinicalgenetictesting-LabTestsOnlineAU Introductiontoaseriesofarticlesdevelopedtoprovideabehindthesceneslookatclinicallaboratories. ReadmoreonLabTestsOnlineAUwebsite Showmore Topresults DegenerativeDiseases:Huntington’s|Ausmed Huntington’sdiseaseisadegenerativeneurologicalconditionaffectingthenervecellsinthebrain.Itisarare,geneticdiseasethatimpairsphysical,cognitiveandpsychologicalfunctioning.Theonsetofthediseaseisusuallyinadulthood,withalifeexpectancyofabout10to30years. ReadmoreonAusmedEducationwebsite Paranoia|Ausmed Paranoiaisabreakdownofaperson’svariousmentalandemotionalfunctionsrelatedtoreasoningandassigningmeaning.Itismarkedbyunreasonablebeliefsoftentodowitheitherpersecutionorgrandeur. ReadmoreonAusmedEducationwebsite DementiaTypesandSymptoms|Ausmed Dementiaisthetermusedforacollectionofsymptomsthatarecausedbydisordersaffectingthebrain–itisnotonespecificdisease.Thereare6maincognitivedomainsthatmaybeaffectedbydementia.Anestimated1,800newcasesofdementiaaredetectedeachweekandthisisexpectedtogrow. ReadmoreonAusmedEducationwebsite Depressionindementia|Issue6|Volume38|AustralianPrescriber Peoplewithdementiaofanytypehaveahighincidenceofmajordepression. ReadmoreonAustralianPrescriberwebsite Medicinalcannabis|Issue6|Volume38|AustralianPrescriber Anumberoftherapeuticusesofcannabisanditsderivativeshavebeenpostulatedfrompreclinicalinvestigations. 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