All you need to know about medications for Huntington’s disease
Deciding on medications for someone affected by Huntington’s disease can be very difficult due to the fact that you don’t directly treat the disease, you treat its symptoms. This can mean that a huge array of medications are available for the person affected, therefore fathoming their symptoms and the right medication to suit them can be confusing. In this article, Professor Hugh Rickards at the University of Birmingham discusses medications for a range of Huntington’s disease symptoms.
What types of medication are out there?
There are a number of medications out there that can help to manage the problems that Huntington’s disease causes for people and their families. At the moment, there are no medications in existence that can stop or reverse the underlying problem. Those sorts of treatments are being researched currently but they can’t be routinely given in the clinic.
What kind of symptoms can be treated?
The sorts of problems that can be helped with medications are as follows; Low mood (depression), anxiety, irritability (short temper) and jerky movements. Most of those problems will have other treatments too that should be considered alongside, or instead of, the medications. This might include changes in the environment and in the way other people interact with the person who has Huntington’s disease, physical exercise and adaptations.
Some Huntington’s disease-related problems can’t usually be treated with medication. These include apathy, memory difficulties, planning problems, problems with social understanding and balance. In these situations, there are often non-medication treatments and strategies that can be used.
Symptoms and accompanying medications
Depression and anxiety
These are common conditions in Huntington’s disease patients but also in those who are caring for people with Huntington’s disease. They often occur together. The main symptom of depression is an issue with enjoying everyday experiences such as drinking a good cup of tea, enjoying a programme on the TV or radio or seeing family. When this problem extends to all situations, all of the time, it’s often time to think about medication.
Anxiety comprises of excessive worry and often includes physical symptoms like a feeling of a lump in the chest, fast heart beating, sweating and wanting to run away. There are many medication treatments for these conditions and they can often be effective. Mild side effects are common but often wear off over time.
The common treatments are in a group called SSRIS, which boost a chemical called serotonin in the brain. When taking these treatments, people can often feel more agitated for the first few days of taking the medication but this almost always wears off. Other common side effects are feeling a bit nauseous, changes in sleep pattern and in sexual function (often harder to reach orgasm). Most of these problems wear off with time or with a slightly lower dose, so it’s important that more than one person is aware that the medication is being consumed. Of course, there are lots of other things that can be done as part of the treatment of depression and anxiety, including exercise, good diet, regular routine, meditation and being with friends. Some types of counselling can also be helpful.
Irritability
Irritability is really common in people affected by Huntington’s disease. In fact, most people with Huntington’s have periods of becoming short-tempered. This is usually because they find it difficult to understand some social situations or they become overloaded with things to think about. In people who have more advanced Huntington’s disease, irritability may happen because of another physical problem that the person is not able to communicate such as pain, constipation or infection, so it’s important to try and rule that out. Before going for the medication option, it’s usually best to really look closely at the types of situations where a person with Huntington’s disease might become irritable. There’s usually a pattern if you look hard enough. This means that other people might be able to change their approach to prevent temper outbursts, rather than using medications.
There are very many different types of medication used for irritability. There are no high-quality studies in this area so treatments are usually based on experts talking to each other and comparing treatments. Usually, irritability is treatable with a combination of medication and changes in the environment including changing the way other people relate to the person with Huntington’s disease.
Excessive movement
Huntington’s disease was often thought of as solely a movement disorder. This is why it used to be called Huntington’s chorea, as chorea meant ‘dancing movement’. This was probably because it was the most obviously ‘different’ thing about a person with Huntington’s disease. However, this is not a very useful way to look at it because jerky movement is not something that usually bothers people with Huntington’s disease and, in most cases, it’s not what stops them doing the things that they want to do. As well as this, medications for excessive movements can often make people feel low in mood and make it harder for them to think clearly.
Sometimes, medication is needed to reduce movements. The sorts of situations where this can be useful are when jerky movements are disturbing sleep, or throwing a person off balance, or leading to injury. In those situations, people use a variety of medications that block the effect of a brain chemical called dopamine. Examples of these medications include risperidone, olanzapine, tetrabenazine, sulpiride and haloperidol. These sorts of medications quite often will reduce jerkiness but can often lead to more sleepiness and stiffness. Weight gain is a common effect of these drugs (especially olanzapine) but sometimes this is a good thing for Huntington’s disease as part of a strategy for keeping weight up. This group of medications can sometimes make people feel down in their spirits and they find it difficult to motivate or develop stiffness in the limbs or body.
Sometimes people with Huntington’s disease or their relatives want to treat the jerky movements to prevent the relatives from feeling embarrassed or judged by other people. This is not usually a good reason to give medications which can have negative effects.
Where to find medications
Firstly you need to work out what the problem is before deciding if medication is the answer. For this, you need to see a doctor. This is usually the GP at first but then they may need to ask for help from the specialist if you have one. All of the medications above can be prescribed by a GP and collected from a pharmacy.
Some specialist treatments have to be prescribed by the specialist. Some medicines aren’t available at some pharmacies, but they will always try and get hold of the medicine as long as it is available in your country.
Most symptoms should be managed with a combination of approaches with medication as one part of a bigger plan.
If you have any further questions regarding medication for Huntington’s disease or you are affected by the disease and are in need of support, please contact us on 0151 331 5444 or email info@hda.org.uk.
Deciding on medications for someone affected by Huntington’s disease can be very difficult due to the fact that you don’t directly treat the disease, you treat its symptoms. This can mean that a huge array of medications are available for the person affected, therefore fathoming their symptoms and the right medication to suit them can be confusing. In this article, Professor Hugh Rickards at the University of Birmingham discusses medications for a range of Huntington’s disease symptoms.
What types of medication are out there?
There are a number of medications out there that can help to manage the problems that Huntington’s disease causes for people and their families. At the moment, there are no medications in existence that can stop or reverse the underlying problem. Those sorts of treatments are being researched currently but they can’t be routinely given in the clinic.
What kind of symptoms can be treated?
The sorts of problems that can be helped with medications are as follows; Low mood (depression), anxiety, irritability (short temper) and jerky movements. Most of those problems will have other treatments too that should be considered alongside, or instead of, the medications. This might include changes in the environment and in the way other people interact with the person who has Huntington’s disease, physical exercise and adaptations.
Some Huntington’s disease-related problems can’t usually be treated with medication. These include apathy, memory difficulties, planning problems, problems with social understanding and balance. In these situations, there are often non-medication treatments and strategies that can be used.
Symptoms and accompanying medications
Depression and anxiety
These are common conditions in Huntington’s disease patients but also in those who are caring for people with Huntington’s disease. They often occur together. The main symptom of depression is an issue with enjoying everyday experiences such as drinking a good cup of tea, enjoying a programme on the TV or radio or seeing family. When this problem extends to all situations, all of the time, it’s often time to think about medication.
Anxiety comprises of excessive worry and often includes physical symptoms like a feeling of a lump in the chest, fast heart beating, sweating and wanting to run away. There are many medication treatments for these conditions and they can often be effective. Mild side effects are common but often wear off over time.
The common treatments are in a group called SSRIS, which boost a chemical called serotonin in the brain. When taking these treatments, people can often feel more agitated for the first few days of taking the medication but this almost always wears off. Other common side effects are feeling a bit nauseous, changes in sleep pattern and in sexual function (often harder to reach orgasm). Most of these problems wear off with time or with a slightly lower dose, so it’s important that more than one person is aware that the medication is being consumed. Of course, there are lots of other things that can be done as part of the treatment of depression and anxiety, including exercise, good diet, regular routine, meditation and being with friends. Some types of counselling can also be helpful.
Irritability
Irritability is really common in people affected by Huntington’s disease. In fact, most people with Huntington’s have periods of becoming short-tempered. This is usually because they find it difficult to understand some social situations or they become overloaded with things to think about. In people who have more advanced Huntington’s disease, irritability may happen because of another physical problem that the person is not able to communicate such as pain, constipation or infection, so it’s important to try and rule that out. Before going for the medication option, it’s usually best to really look closely at the types of situations where a person with Huntington’s disease might become irritable. There’s usually a pattern if you look hard enough. This means that other people might be able to change their approach to prevent temper outbursts, rather than using medications.
There are very many different types of medication used for irritability. There are no high-quality studies in this area so treatments are usually based on experts talking to each other and comparing treatments. Usually, irritability is treatable with a combination of medication and changes in the environment including changing the way other people relate to the person with Huntington’s disease.
Excessive movement
Huntington’s disease was often thought of as solely a movement disorder. This is why it used to be called Huntington’s chorea, as chorea meant ‘dancing movement’. This was probably because it was the most obviously ‘different’ thing about a person with Huntington’s disease. However, this is not a very useful way to look at it because jerky movement is not something that usually bothers people with Huntington’s disease and, in most cases, it’s not what stops them doing the things that they want to do. As well as this, medications for excessive movements can often make people feel low in mood and make it harder for them to think clearly.
Sometimes, medication is needed to reduce movements. The sorts of situations where this can be useful are when jerky movements are disturbing sleep, or throwing a person off balance, or leading to injury. In those situations, people use a variety of medications that block the effect of a brain chemical called dopamine. Examples of these medications include risperidone, olanzapine, tetrabenazine, sulpiride and haloperidol. These sorts of medications quite often will reduce jerkiness but can often lead to more sleepiness and stiffness. Weight gain is a common effect of these drugs (especially olanzapine) but sometimes this is a good thing for Huntington’s disease as part of a strategy for keeping weight up. This group of medications can sometimes make people feel down in their spirits and they find it difficult to motivate or develop stiffness in the limbs or body.
Sometimes people with Huntington’s disease or their relatives want to treat the jerky movements to prevent the relatives from feeling embarrassed or judged by other people. This is not usually a good reason to give medications which can have negative effects.
Where to find medications
Firstly you need to work out what the problem is before deciding if medication is the answer. For this, you need to see a doctor. This is usually the GP at first but then they may need to ask for help from the specialist if you have one. All of the medications above can be prescribed by a GP and collected from a pharmacy.
Some specialist treatments have to be prescribed by the specialist. Some medicines aren’t available at some pharmacies, but they will always try and get hold of the medicine as long as it is available in your country.
Most symptoms should be managed with a combination of approaches with medication as one part of a bigger plan.
If you have any further questions regarding medication for Huntington’s disease or you are affected by the disease and are in need of support, please contact us on 0151 331 5444 or email info@hda.org.uk.