Cognitive and motor correlates of everyday functioning in early Huntington's disease

The present study documents the prevalence of deficits in the ability to carry out a variety of activities of daily living in early Huntington's disease (HD), along with the associated neuropsychological and motor deficits. Eighty patients with HD were assessed with the Huntington's Disease-Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (HD-ADL). Sixty-seven patients also completed a comprehensive assessment of cognitive and voluntary motor functioning and chorea. The latter measures were correlated with HD-ADL total score and with most HD-ADL items, but not with those items dealing with marital and family relationship adjustment. Findings suggest that psychomotor speed and the ability to regulate attention may be particularly important determinants of everyday functioning in mild HD. Consistent with previously reported observations, this appears to be true even after accounting for individual differences in the severity of chorea and voluntary motor impairment.