What Are the Symptoms of Huntington’s Disease?

Huntington’s disease causes progressively worsening symptoms involving movement, mood, thinking, and behavior. Clumsiness can be an early sign, and most people who have Huntington’s disease eventually develop a variety of symptoms.

Difficulty With Balance and Coordination 

Impaired balance and coordination are among the first noticeable effects of Huntington’s disease. Difficulty with voluntary, intentional, deliberate movements can affect a person’s ability to continue their usual daily life activities or take care of themselves. 

Problems may include:

Huntington’s disease may start with subtle signs, such as dropping things. Eventually, the disease causes loss of control of intentional movements, making it impossible to move or walk independently.

Involuntary Movements 

In addition to the difficulty controlling movements, people who have Huntington’s disease also experience involuntary movements (unintentional and uncontrolled muscle movements that happen on their own). 

Involuntary movements of Huntington’s disease include:

• Chorea: A slow, writhing movement that can affect any part of the body, especially the neck or head. 
• Dystonia: A prolonged position that can last for seconds or minutes at a time. 
• Tremors: Repetitive rhythmic shaking of part of the body, often affecting the fingers, hands, or legs. 
• Nystagmus: Rapid jerking movements of the eyes. 

These involuntary movements can occur without any trigger and often become more frequent and severe as Huntington’s disease progresses.

Decline in Cognitive Skills  

Most people who have Huntington’s disease experience a decline in cognitive capabilities. 

Cognitive abilities affected by Huntington’s disease include:

• Memory 
• Learning 
• Self-awareness 
• Planning 
• Concentration and focus 
• Self-care 
• Reading and writing

The cognitive effects of Huntington’s disease are described as a type of dementia, which is a gradual decline in cognitive skills that a person used to have. Dementia can make people unaware or unconcerned about the other symptoms of the disease.

Mood Changes 

Huntington’s disease causes emotional symptoms, and many people who have the condition are diagnosed with one or more mood disorders. 

Mood disorders that are part of Huntington’s disease include:

The changes in the brain that are part of Huntington’s disease cause emotional disturbances. Additionally, these mood changes can develop as an emotional response to the symptoms and to being diagnosed with Huntington’s disease.

Hallucinations and Delusions 

Altered thoughts and false beliefs can occur due to Huntington’s disease, often at later stages of the disease course.

Thought changes that are part of Huntington’s disease include:

• Hallucinations: A hallucination is the experience of a sensation that isn’t real, such as seeing or hearing something that isn’t there. 
• Delusions: A delusion is a false belief. Delusions can include believing that others are plotting against you or believing that you are someone other than who you are. 
• Obsessive-compulsive behaviors: These involve fixating on certain things, such as picking at a scab or avoiding a particular food. Such behaviors can lead to neglecting important self-care or even causing physical injuries. 
• Psychosis: An episode of psychosis is a detachment from reality, and it may include panic or a complete inability to communicate with others. 

All of these thinking and behavioral patterns are caused by the effect of Huntington’s disease on the brain. 

Health Consequences

The many different symptoms of Huntington’s disease can cause serious health consequences. The condition progressively worsens, and on average, results in death approximately 15 to 20 years after symptoms begin, usually due to complications of the disease.

Health complications of Huntington’s disease include:

• Pneumonia and other infections
• Falls and other injuries
• Malnutrition and weight loss

Preventing these complications and getting treatment if a complication occurs can prolong survival.