- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Copyright Olivia Handley The Huntington's Disease Centre, Cardiff, Wales - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Huntington’s disease is characterised by a triad of symptoms: movement disorder, emotional disturbance and cognitive decline. In the early stages of the disease, only one of these symptoms may be present. However by mid to late stages individuals usually show signs and symptoms of all three. The different types of symptoms are listed below. Click on each heading to find out more: Chorea Hypokinesia/ Bradykinesia Rigidity Dystonia Dysphagia Dysarthria Balance disturbance Eye movement abnormalities Depression Irritability Apathy Disinhibition Psychosis Executive dysfunction Psychomotor slowing Memory impairment Perseveration Sleep disturbance Weight loss Bladder Disturbance The onset and course of the disease varies hugely between individuals. Most people develop the disease around 40 years of age, but symptoms can occur much earlier or later in life. We do not fully understand why the disease onset differs between individuals but it is likely that different genetic and environmental factors contribute towards the age of onset. One pattern that has emerged from epidemiological research is that with a larger expansion of the gene (e.g. over 60 CAG repeats) are more likely to show an earlier age of onset, possibly starting in childhood/adolescence (known as juvenile Huntington’s disease). The symptoms of juvenile Huntington’s disease are often different from adult Huntington’s disease. There is some suggestion from research that juveniles with the disease exhibit more severe cognitive and behavioural difficulties, increased rigidity and dystonia and that the disease process may follow a more aggressive course with an increased prevalence of epilepsy.