The disease brings a vast array of mobility-related, psychiatric and cognitive disabilities, the severity of which varies from patient to patient. While a particular symptom may appear to overpower others in terms of seriousness in the initial stages, its impact can slow down with proper medical attention.
In the next section, we discuss the symptoms of juvenile and adult-onset Huntington’s disease.
Symptoms of Juvenile Huntington’s Disease
People in their adolescent years experience different symptoms than grown-ups (aged between 30 and 40). Some of the initial symptoms include:
Physical Changes
- Clumsiness and frequent falls while walking or climbing stairs
- Random involuntary movements
- Contracted muscles (this is a sign often prevalent among young individuals yet to reach adolescence)
- Seizures
Behavioural Changes
- Difficulty in concentrating on a subject for long
- Abrupt poor performance in overall academic results
2. Symptoms of Adult-onset Huntington’s Disease
The disorders associated with this sub-type cast a considerable impact on a person’s movement, cognitive and emotional responsiveness to a specific limit. We have listed the difficulties sighted in all these aspects.
Movement Disorders
People diagnosed with Huntington’s disease can experience movement challenges in voluntary movement as well as involuntary body part movements. The affected individual’s day to day communication and working capabilities are considerably restricted due to the following problems:
Cognitive Disorders
People living with Huntington's disease frequently experience the following difficulties:
- Lack of awareness regarding the consequence of a particular act
- Problems related to emphasising essential tasks at hand
- Tendency to be stuck on a specific thought, past behaviour or action
- Lack of impulse control resulting in occasional outbursts
- Difficulty in finding the right words while speaking
- Sexual promiscuity
Psychiatric Disorders
Individuals start suffering from depression due to the implications of brain injury and sporadic transformations in brain functioning. Other detrimental signs consist of:
- Feelings of sadness and irritability
- Insomnia
- Urge to stay alone for most of the time
- Increased fatigue
- Frequent thoughts of suicide
Apart from all the listed Huntington’s disease symptoms, weight loss is a common phenomenon among those going through the advanced stages of this disorder.