Weight loss can make symptoms worse and weaken the patient's immune system, making them more vulnerable to infections and other complications. Huntington's disease itself is not usually fatal, but it can lead to choking, pneumonia, or other infections that can lead to death.
After Huntington's disease starts, a person's functional abilities gradually worsen over time. The rate of disease progression and duration varies. The time from the first symptoms to death is often about 10 to 30 years. Juvenile Huntington's disease usually results in death within 10 years after symptoms develop.
(For more information on Complications of HD, click here.) It is important to know that stress can lead to complications and the worsening of symptoms in people with HD.
Choose soft, easy-to-chew and easy-to-swallow foods (aim for the consistency of porridge). Use plenty of sauces and gravies to help make main meals easier to swallow. Add plenty of custards, ice-cream and cream to desserts. Avoid hard foods such as nuts and lollies.
Keep life simple - Rest, Exercise, Nutrition, A daily laugh Carry earplugs with you when you are out (Some people with HD are sensitive to noise) Carry calendars with you to write down everything you must do for the day and any information you get from other people.
When alcohol becomes a coping mechanism for Huntington's disease, that's when it becomes a problem. “With any neurodegenerative or medical disease, drinking a lot can certainly affect your balance and your gait,” says Dr. Oguh.
The time when symptoms actually show up varies between people, however. There is evidence that about 40% of this variation is due to other genetic factors, and about 60% is due to unknown influences in a person's life or surroundings - which scientists refer to as environmental factors.
In previous work with HD mice, Duan and her colleagues found that calorie restriction (reducing calories by about 30 percent through alternate day feeding) slowed the disease progression and extended lifespan.
Those receptors are most prominent on the brain cells that die early on in Huntington's disease. So, people who drank lots of caffeine had earlier onset - and the receptors that caffeine blocks are prominent in HD-damaged brain regions…
You can't cure or slow the progression of Huntington disease, but health care providers can offer medications to help with certain symptoms. Drugs like haloperidol, tetrabenazine, and amantadine are especially helpful for controlling the unusual movements caused by Huntington disease.
Huntington's Disease (HD) is not fatal in itself. People with HD have a shorter life expectancy and die of other life-threatening complications related to this disease. Pneumonia and heart disease are the two leading causes of death for people with HD.
Huntington's disease impairs the functioning of the brain, which can result in apathy, trouble organizing, impulsivity, irritability and anger, unawareness, disinhibition, preservation, and other psychiatric symptoms. These emotional and behavioral symptoms can further complicate the caregiver's role.
The most painful conditions in Huntington's, said Achterberg, are limb pain, headache, abdominal pain and fractures. “I think we should do more work in validation of pain tools, including observational pain instruments,” he said. “And for clinicians, I suggest you be especially aware of abdominal pain.”
Huntington's disease is caused by a faulty gene. Cells in parts of the brain are very sensitive to the effects of the faulty gene. This makes them function poorly and eventually die. A parent with the Huntington's disease gene has one good copy of the gene and one faulty copy.
As the disease progresses, a variety of motor, emotional/behavioral, and cognitive symptoms are experienced, including unsteadiness, trouble holding onto things, trouble walking, changes in sleeping patterns, delusions and hallucinations, intellectual decline, and memory loss.
The most common sleep problems reported by HD patients include insomnia, difficulties in falling asleep, frequent nocturnal awakenings, and excessive daytime sleepiness.
Research studies have suggested that exercise is beneficial for reducing symptoms and maximizing function in persons with HD. Maintaining a healthy heart is important to the health of all persons, no matter their disability. Persons with HD should engage in aerobic activities ideally for at least 150 minutes a week.
“Aerobic exercise helps protect your brain and may slow the progression of nerve deterioration in Huntington's disease.” However, researchers haven't yet found evidence that exercise can definitively delay the development of Huntington's disease — or prevent it from developing at all.
During late-stage Huntington's disease, or stage V, individuals experience speech difficulty, weight loss, and loss of bowel and bladder control. They will have dementia and severe limitations in voluntary movement and will be fully dependent on assistance.
While treatments exist to manage the symptoms of the disease, nothing has proven to be curative – yet.
Stage 3: Late Intermediate Stage
Generally, the disease will have affected them enough that they will require assistance with everyday tasks. This stage will generally carry on for around five to sixteen years. By now, symptoms will be more pronounced and include those such as: Issues with walking.
Physical changes may include slurred speech and problems with swallowing, eating, speaking, and especially walking. People with HD may lose weight because of problems with feeding, swallowing, choking, and chest infections.
Common emotional and behavioral difficulties among persons with HD include depression, anxiety, irritability-anger, aggression, perseveration, disinhibition, and apathy (5–14).
Foods to avoid for Huntington's disease
“Those with Huntington's disease should avoid foods that put them at risk of aspiration (sucking food into their airway) or exacerbating (making worse) other swallowing difficulties,” says Hopsecger. These foods include: Raw fruits. Stringy vegetables.