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Signs and Symptoms
Huntington’s disease produces three types of symptoms develop varies from person to person.
Movement
Uncontrolled movement, or tics may develop in the finger,
feet, face, or trunk. This is the beginning stage of chorea-
involuntary, rapid, ceaseless movement. Chorea can become more intense
when the person is anxious or disturbed. Over time other symptoms, such
as the following, emerge.
.
Clumsiness.
.
Jaw clenching (bruxis)
.
Loss of coordination
and balance
. Slurred
speech
. Swallowing
or eating difficulty
.
Uncontrolled continual muscular contraction (dystonia)
. Walking
difficulty, stumbling, falling
Cognitive
Over time judgment,
memory, and other cognitive functions begin to deteriorate into
dementia. As Huntington’s disease progress, the ability to concentrate
becomes more difficult. The person may have difficulty driving, keeping
track of things, making decisions, answering questions, and may lose the
ability to recognize familiar objects.
Psychiatric
Early psychiatric
symptoms of Huntington’s disease are subtle, varied and easily
overlooked or misinterpreted. Depression is the most common psychiatric
symptom of Huntington’s and often develops early in the course of the
disease. Signs of depression include:
. Hostility /
irritability
. Inability
to take pleasure in life
. Lack of
energy
Some people develop
manic-depression, or bipolar disorder, during the course of the disease. A person with
Huntington’s may exhibit psychotic behaviour.
. Delusions
.
Hallucinations
.
Inappropriate behaviour
. Paranoia
In late- onset
disease (after age 50) the patient may suffer depression rather than
experience sudden anger or irritability and their memory, reasoning and
problem solving skills may remain sharp. Early signs on juvenile huntington’s disease often include subtle changes in handwriting and a
rapid decline in school performance. The child may develop
seemingly minor movement disorders, such as slowness, rigidity,
tremor or rapid muscle twitching. Other early signs of disease may
include these changes.
Behavioural changes.
Difficulty learning new things.
Speech difficulties.
Children under the age of 15 may experience recurrent seizures and
akinesia muscle rigidity and stiffness.
Children from 15 to 18 years of age tend to manifest the same symptoms
of Huntington’s disease as adults.
Complications
Lack of
physical activity, dietary problems can cause constipation,
incontinence and weight loss.
Psychiatric and cognitive problems can lead to social isolation and
deep depression.
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