engleski

The relationship between neurologic and psychiatric symptomatology in patients with Huntingtons chorea

We have analyzed eleven patients with Huntington Chorea who had both neurologic and psychiatric disorders. the examined group consisted of 7 women and 4 men who experienced first symptoms at the age of 25-50, the average age being 35. Some patients first had neurologica symptoms, which were followed by psychiatric disorders in some patients. Hower, some patients first developed psychiatric disturbances, and only after some time when signs of neurologic disorders appeared and some diagnostic and genetic tests were done, it become clear that we were dealing with Huntington chorea. Genetic tests revealed the IT mutation of 15 genes on the forth chromosome with 39 to 56 CAG repetitions, with the average of 49 CAG repetitions. In the eyamined group of patients with HD, 55% of the patients first show neurologic symptomatology, while 45% of them have predominant psychiatric symptomatology. It has been observed that in some families psychiatric disorders appear first, and after a few years neurologic disorders may appear in some cases, while in others they never develop because of the suicidal impulses, which is why HD very often passes by without being diagnosed. In a number of patients with predominant neurologic symptomatology, it may take 5-10 years utill psychiatric disorders develop, if at all. Predominant psychiatric symptomatology in our patients, as well as in other examined groups, discloses as moral and ethical deterioration, and the disorder of the personality and mood. Shizophrenic psychosis appears in 25% ofthe sick, according to the studies of other authors. Neuropsychiatric co-operation and care for patients are extremely important in monitoring and treating of the Huntington Chorea patients.

Huntington chorea; neurologic; psychiatric; symptomatology

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