Huntington's Disease
By: Mackenzie Fraitzl
What is it?
How is it inherited?
What are the symptoms?
Movement:
-Involuntary jerking or writhing movements
-Muscle problems
-Slow or abnormal eye movements
-Impaired gait, posture and balance
-Difficulty with the physical production of speech or swallowing
Cognitive:
-Difficulty organizing, prioritizing or focusing on tasks
-Lack of flexibility or the tendency to get stuck on a thought, behavior or action
-Lack of impulse control that can result in outbursts, acting without thinking and sexual promiscuity
-Lack of awareness of one's own behaviors and abilities
-Slowness in processing thoughts or "finding" words
-Difficulty in learning new information
Psychiatric:
-Feelings or irritability, sadness or apathy
-Social withdrawal
-Insomnia
-Fatigue and loss of energy
-Frequent thoughts of death, dying or suicide
What are the treatments?
Medications to help movement disorders:
-Tetrabenazine
-Antipsychotic drugs
Medications to help psychiatric disorders:
-Antidepressants
-Antipsychotic drugs
-Mood-stabilizing drugs
Is there available help for families?
Who should be tested?
What is the procedure for testing?
Motor Symptoms:
-Reflexes
-Muscle strength
-Muscle tone
-Coordination
-Balance
Sensory Symptoms:
-Sense of touch
-Vision and eye movement
-Hearing
Psychiatric Symptoms:
-Memory
-Reasoning
-Mental agility
-Language functioning
-Spatial reasoning