HD Lighthouse Contributing Editor's Comment: Although psychological symptoms are common with HD, not everyone experiences every possible symptom. This study shows that obsessions and compulsions become more likely as the disease progresses but are not an inevitable part of the disease.

-- Marsha L. Miller, Ph.D.
Posted to the HDL: 17 Jul 2006

Probability of Obsessive and Compulsive Symptoms in Huntington's Disease

Beglinger LJ, Langbehn DR, Duff K, Stierman L, Black DW, Nehl C, Anderson K, Penziner E, Paulsen JS. and the Huntington's Study Group Investigators

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the probability of obsessive and compulsive (OC) symptoms across stages of Huntington's disease (HD) with both cross sectional and longitudinal data.

Methods: We present the largest sample to date of individuals at risk for HD (N = 3964). Obsessive and compulsive symptoms were assessed with the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale OC items.

Results: The probability of meeting the threshold for obsessions and compulsions increased with greater disease severity. Those with no motor abnormalities ("at risk") had a 7% probability of obsessions and a 3.5% probability of compulsions; the peak probability for obsessions (24%) and compulsions (12%) occurred in patients with advanced disease with significant functional disability.

Conclusions: The probability of OC symptoms is more than three times greater by stages 3 and 4 (clearly manifest disease) than in our at-risk group with no apparent motor abnormalities.

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Source: Biological Psychiatry 2006 Jul 11; [Epub ahead of print]

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