Huntington’s disease

Huntington’s disease (chorea) is a congenital incurable disease characterized by the occurrence of involuntary bodily movements and a decrease in mental abilities. It is extremely rare, most cases have been reported in Europeans or their descendants aged 30 to 50 years. Most often, men are susceptible to the disease.

Causes of Huntington’s Disease

The disease is transmitted exclusively by inheritance and is a consequence of a genetic predisposition to mutations. It leads to damage to the cortex and subcortical nodes of the brain – the departments responsible for controlling the coordination of movements and mental activity, memory, and so on.

Symptoms of Huntington’s Disease

Symptoms of Huntington ‘s disease include:

chorea – sudden involuntary movements of the limbs, involuntary contractions of the muscles of the torso, face, neck;
deterioration of intellectual abilities;
memory loss.
Huntington’s disease is always congenital, but in the first half of life, as a rule, either does not make itself felt completely, or is manifested only by weak twitching of the limbs and facial muscles.

Over time, the disease, having been discovered, steadily progresses, the movements (chorea) become more and more abrupt, it becomes difficult to hide them. In the later stages of Huntington’s disease, the patient almost completely loses the ability to self-care, including food and other basic household needs. In the last stages of the disease, the patient often loses the ability to move independently.

Changes in the patient’s intelligence also increase during the development of the disease. Initially, they manifest themselves only in the form of increased fatigue, irritability or excitability.

As the disease progresses, depressed mood, lack of interest in anything, aimless behavior are noted. For a certain period of time, patients also have an increase in sexual desire, and then its complete disappearance.

In the later stages, the patient completely loses control of his actions. Partial or complete memory loss often occurs. In this condition, the patient requires constant care and monitoring.

Diagnosis of Huntington’s disease

During the examination of the patient and the study of the anamnesis, the doctor is obliged to clarify whether a similar disease has been diagnosed in any of the patient’s closest relatives. This is a mandatory point in the diagnosis of Huntington’s disease. Next, a computer or magnetic resonance imaging is prescribed. The images, especially in the late stages of the disease, clearly show areas of damage to the cerebral cortex and subcortical nodes.

There are also methods for determining the genetic predisposition to this disease.

Treatment of Huntington’s disease

Unfortunately, Huntington’s disease is considered to be an incurable disease. Science does not know a single case of cure or remission of this ailment. Therefore, only symptomatic treatment is used, aimed at weakening chorea attacks and maintaining the patient’s psyche.

Prognosis of Huntington’s disease

The disease progresses slowly, for many years. Most often, with proper care, it is possible to prolong the patient’s life for 15-20 years. Death often occurs due to diseases of the lungs or cardiovascular system, developing due to the sedentary lifestyle of the patient in the later stages of the disease. Injuries from falls are also often the cause of death. The average life expectancy is 15 years from the moment of the first signs of the disease.

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