Negative symptoms in Huntington's disease.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Genetics

Background:

• Apathy is the most frequent psychiatric symptom in Huntington's disease (HD).
• This study investigated negative psychiatric symptoms using the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Psychiatric Symptoms (SANS) in early and intermediate HD stages.
• The hypothesis was that negative symptoms would be prominent and offer a more comprehensive assessment than apathy alone.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the prevalence and severity of negative psychiatric symptoms in early and intermediate Huntington's disease.
• To examine the relationship between negative symptoms and disease stage, mood, motor function, and cognitive deficits.
• To evaluate the clinical utility of the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Psychiatric Symptoms (SANS) in Huntington's disease.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-five stage 1 and twenty-nine stage 2 Huntington's disease (HD) outpatients were evaluated.
• Participants completed the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Psychiatric Symptoms (SANS), Scale for the Assessment of Positive Psychiatric Symptoms (SAPS), Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) motor section, Total Functional Capacity (TFC), and assessments for cognition, anxiety, and depression.
• Statistical analyses, including multiple regression, were used to determine associations.

Main Results:

• Negative symptoms were pervasive across all Huntington's disease (HD) patients.
• Stage 2 HD patients exhibited significantly worse illness duration, motor function (UHDRS), functional capacity (TFC), and cognitive scores, along with higher SANS scores.
• SANS scores were significantly associated with cognitive function (Mini Mental State Examination - MMSE) and positive symptoms (SAPS), and also with disease stage, independent of cognitive domains.

Conclusions:

• Negative psychiatric symptoms are widespread in Huntington's disease (HD), with increased severity in later stages.
• Impaired cognition and thinking processes appear to contribute significantly to the development of negative symptoms in HD.
• The Scale for the Assessment of Negative Psychiatric Symptoms (SANS) is a valuable tool for identifying a broad spectrum of negative symptoms in Huntington's disease.