The main symptoms of Huntington's chorea

Huntington's chorea cases are not very common in modern medicine. This is a chronic disease, which is accompanied by a gradual progressive lesion of the nervous system. Unfortunately, there is currently no effective treatment, so the prognosis for patients is unfavorable.

What is Huntington's disease?

Degenerative chorea is a hereditary disease that is associated with the alteration of some genes. Most often, the disease begins to manifest itself at the age of 20 to 50 years. But the cases of teenage chorea of Huntington are extremely rare.

With a similar disease, there is a gradual atrophy of the heads of caudate nuclei in the human brain. Because of this degeneration, the main symptoms of the disease manifest themselves: hyperkinesia, mental disorders and other disorders.

As can be seen, the causes of Huntington's chorea are exclusively genetic. Nevertheless, there are risk factors that can trigger the onset of the disease. In particular, degeneration often begins against the background of infectious ailments, the use of certain medications, as well as hormonal failures and metabolic disorders.

Chorea Huntington: photos and signs of disease

As already mentioned, most often degenerative processes in the brain begin in adulthood. It is worth noting that only a doctor after carrying out all the necessary studies can diagnose "Huntington's chorea".

Symptoms and their intensity depend on the stage of the disease. As a rule, hyperkinesis of facial muscles first of all appears. As a result of the gradual destruction of nerve fibers, involuntary muscle contractions are observed - on the face of sick people, one can often notice very expressive grimaces, uncontrolled ascending or lowering of the eyebrows, and jerking of the cheeks. In some cases, hyperkinesis of the limbs is also possible, in which patients flex and expand their fingers, cross their legs, etc.

As the disease progresses, the patient's speech also changes. First, the pronunciation of sounds is disturbed, after which the speed and rhythm of the conversation change. Approximately half of the patients have regular convulsions.

Along with motor disorders, there are also very obvious disorders of the psyche. If in the initial stages of Huntington's chorea there is increased excitability and irritability, then later there will be pronounced emotional instability, loss of memory, loss of ability to abstract, logical thinking, perception, concentration of attention. Eventually dementia occurs.

Is there an effective treatment for Huntington's chorea?

Unfortunately, all existing methods are intended only to facilitate the patient's condition and symptomatic treatment. Constant observation from a neurologist and taking some medications will help to reduce manifestations of motor disorders, as well as slow the development of mental disorders. The prognosis for patients with a similar diagnosis is very disappointing. The average life expectancy of a person with a similar diagnosis is 12-15 years after the appearance of the first symptoms.