title: Pharmacologic approaches to the treatment of Huntington's disease.
abstract: Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited, progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by chorea, cognitive impairment, and behavioral disturbances. Despite advances in diagnosis and improved understanding of HD, treatment remains difficult due to challenging symptoms and a paucity of approved therapeutic interventions. Nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic strategies have been evaluated; regarding the latter, over 80 agents of various classes have been investigated in clinical trials or examined in case reports. Symptomatic treatment, however, is generally confined to antidopaminergic agents for motor dysfunction and antidepressants for mood disorders, while treatment for cognitive dysfunction remains vacant. Several different mechanisms to modify symptoms and disease progression have been targeted in clinical trials. This article reviews some of the more common pharmacologic treatments used for HD, discusses data regarding suboptimal agents that have been tested, and surveys treatments under investigation.
authors: Center for Human Experimental Therapeutics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA.
authors: Charles S
authors: CS
authors: Venuto
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: McGarry
authors: Qing
authors: Q
authors: Ma
authors: Karl
authors: K
authors: Kieburtz
mesh_terms: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents