Huntington's disease: A clinical primer for acute and general physicians

Massey, Thomas H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9804-2131 and McLauchlan, Duncan J. 2024. Huntington's disease: A clinical primer for acute and general physicians. Clinical Medicine 24 (2) , 100200. 10.1016/j.clinme.2024.100200

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Abstract

Huntington's disease (HD) usually manifests in adulthood and is characterised by progressive neurodegeneration in the brain that causes worsening involuntary movements, mental health and cognition over many years. Depression, anxiety and apathy are common. HD is autosomal dominant and affects about 1 in 8,000 people in the UK. There are currently no disease-modifying treatments and so patient care centres on multidisciplinary therapy support and medical treatments to relieve distressing symptoms. Progression of HD is usually slow, and so acute deteriorations often indicate another problem, such as intercurrent infections, constipation, urinary retention, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease or poor dentition. In this review we outline common presentations in HD patients, both acute and chronic, consider therapeutic options and discuss specific considerations in advanced HD.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Medicine
ISSN:	1470-2118
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	25 April 2024
Date of Acceptance:	6 April 2024
Last Modified:	30 Apr 2024 09:17
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/168378

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