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Autonomic dysfunction in presymptomatic and early symptomatic Huntington's disease

J Kobal1, Z Melik, K Cankar

  • 1Department of neurology, University medical center Ljubljana, Slovenia. jan.kobal@gmail.com <jan.kobal@gmail.com>

Acta Neurologica Scandinavica
|January 6, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Subtle autonomic dysfunction, affecting heart rate and blood pressure, is present in early stages of Huntington

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Autonomic Nervous System Function
  • Huntington's Disease Research

Background:

  • Autonomic dysfunction is known in advanced Huntington's disease (HD).
  • Its presence in presymptomatic and early symptomatic stages of HD remains unclear.
  • Understanding early autonomic changes is crucial for disease progression insights.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate autonomic nervous system function in presymptomatic and early symptomatic Huntington's disease.
  • To determine if cardiovascular autonomic tests reveal dysfunction before significant HD symptoms manifest.

Main Methods:

  • Cardiovascular autonomic tests were conducted on 14 presymptomatic HD mutation carriers (PHD) and 11 early symptomatic HD patients (EHD).
  • A control group of 25 healthy individuals was included for comparison.
  • Tests included responses to mental arithmetic and cold pressor challenges.

Main Results:

  • Presymptomatic and early symptomatic HD groups showed an attenuated heart rate response to mental arithmetic compared to controls.
  • Early symptomatic HD patients exhibited lower diastolic pressure during mental arithmetic.
  • Both PHD and EHD groups displayed an exaggerated heart rate response to the cold pressor test.

Conclusions:

  • Subtle autonomic dysfunction is detectable even in presymptomatic and early symptomatic stages of Huntington's disease.
  • These findings suggest early involvement of the autonomic nervous system in HD.
  • Early detection of autonomic dysfunction may offer new avenues for monitoring HD progression.
Abstract

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