Treatment and Medication Options for Huntington’s Disease
There’s no cure for Huntington’s disease and no proven treatments that slow the progression of symptoms. However, there are some medications that can lessen the burden of some of the physical and mental symptoms of the condition.
In addition, there are steps you can take to help you manage day-to-day activities with Huntington’s.
Medication Options
As your symptoms progress, your care team will likely prescribe treatments to manage movement problems such as dystonia, chorea, and bradykinesia, as well as mental health symptoms. However, these drugs won’t have any effect on the progression of the disease.
Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 Inhibitors
These are used to control chorea. Potential side effects include drowsiness, restlessness, and depression.
- deutetrabenazine (Austedo)
- tetrabenazine (Xenazine)
- valbenazine (Ingrezza)
Antipsychotics
These can help control violent outbursts, agitation, and other symptoms of mood disorders or psychosis. One side effect is the suppression of muscle movements, so they can be used to treat chorea, too. However, these medications may worsen dystonia and cause restlessness and drowsiness.
- aripiprazole (Abilify, Aristada)
- fluphenazine
- haloperidol
- olanzapine (Zyprexa)
- quetiapine (Seroquel)
- risperidone
Antiseizure Medications
Different anticonvulsants can treat chorea or mood issues.
- carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Epitol, Tegretol)
- clonazepam (Klonopin) (antiseizure)
- divalproex (Depakote)
- lamotrigine (Lamictal)
- levetiracetam (Keppra, Elepsia XR, Spritam)
Antidepressants
These can also address mood and behavior problems. Possible side effects with these medications include nausea, diarrhea, drowsiness, and low blood pressure.
- citalopram (Celexa)
- escitalopram (Lexapro)
- fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem)
- sertraline (Zoloft)
Another medication that may help suppress chorea is amantadine (Gocovri ER, Osmolex ER), an NMDA receptor antagonist that’s also used in Parkinson’s disease.
Other Treatments for Huntington’s Disease
Your neurologist may recommend that you see a mental health professional to help you manage the emotional effects of Huntington’s disease. A psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker may provide talk therapy to help with behavioral problems and provide you with coping strategies to help you manage the effects of the disease.
As Huntington’s makes it harder to control the muscles in the mouth and throat that you need to talk and eat, a speech therapist can help improve your ability to speak and help you with swallowing food. They can also teach you how to use communication devices as your speech symptoms worsen.
A physical therapist can teach you exercises that enhance strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination, which will help with the movement-related symptoms of Huntington’s. These exercises can help you stay mobile and prevent falls. If you need to use a walker or wheelchair, a physical therapist can teach you proper and safe use of them.
Finally, an occupational therapist can guide you on the use of assistive devices that improve functional abilities such as handrails to prevent falls at home. There are also devices that can help you manage day-to-day activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, and drinking.
Complementary and Integrative Therapies for Huntington’s Disease
Little scientific evidence supports the use of complementary and integrative medicine in Huntington’s, although some people find that mind-body interventions such as dance therapy, music therapy, and exercise are helpful for strength, balance, and mood.
If you want to explore any of these approaches, you should consult with your care team.
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