Huntington's disease

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Huntington chorea

• behavior changes
  • irritability, moodiness
  • restlessness, fidgeting
  • antisocial behaviors
  • psychosis, paranoia, hallucinations
• facial movements, grimaces
• need to turn head to shift the gaze
• progressive dementia
  • loss of memory
  • loss of judgment
  • speech changes
  • loss of other functions (calculating, etc.)
  • personality changes
  • disorientation or confusion
• unsteady gait
• progressive development of abnormal (choreiform) movements
  • quick, sudden, jerking movements of arms, legs, face, trunk (movement, unpredictable - jerky)
  • movement, uncontrolled - slow

• speech impairment
• anxiety, stress, and tension
• difficulty swallowing

In children:

• slow movements
• tremor
• rigidity

Examination may indicate progressive dementia and choreiform (chorea-like) movements. Reflexes may be abnormal. The gait is often "prancing" and wide. Speech may be hesitant or enunciation poor.

A head CT scan may show atrophy (loss of tissue), especially of deep brain (caudate) structures, or other abnormalities.

Other tests that may indicate Huntington's disease include:

• head MRI scan
• PET (isotope) scan of the brain
• DNA marker studies (gene studies that indicate the tendency to develop this disorder) may be available

Review Date: 07/28/2005
Reviewed By: Kevin Sheth, M.D., Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.