Alternative Approaches for the Management of Huntington's Disease: A Narrative Review

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal neurodegenerative disease that involves movement disorders, cognitive impairments, and psychiatric symptoms. It is characterized by regionally selective cortical degeneration that proceeds from posterior to anterior cortical region which explains its heterogeneity. At present, the psychiatric symptoms of HD are mostly managed by antidepressant such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or selective nor-epinephrine reuptake inhibitors, and atypical antipsychotics. Currently, there are no efficient pharmacological treatment available for HD. Thus, in order to avoid this void in effective pharmacotherapy, further supplemental and alternative approaches are being explored for the management of problems associated with HD. A literature review was performed using the databases PubMed and Google Scholar identifying clinical studies that were set to ameliorate the symptoms associated with HD. On critical analysis, it was found that alternative treatment modalities like music therapy, video games, Yoga, Physical therapy, and exercise-based programs have a potential and possible role in improving the symptoms of HD at varied degrees.