Huntington's disease: current concepts of therapy

Huntington's disease (Huntington's chorea), a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern. Since there is no cure for this genetic disorder, therapy has been focused on pharmacologic manipulation of the involved neurotransmitter systems. In Huntington's disease, there is a functional predominance of striatal dopaminergic activity over antagonist cholinergic and possibly GABA-minergic systems. Many dopaminergic antagonists and cholinergic and GABA-minergic agonists are currently used in treatment. Supportive psychiatric care for affected persons and their families is an important therapeutic adjunct in the management of Huntington's disease. The eventual therapy will depend upon accurate identification of the primary genetic defect.