title: Therapy in Huntington's disease: where are we?
abstract: As of 2012, almost 20 years after the discovery of the causative gene, clinical research has yet to find a disease-modifying treatment for Huntington's disease. However, both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies are available for many of the common symptoms of the disease. Recent studies of gene-positive patients in the prodromal, not clinically diagnosable, stages of the disease, are changing our perception of when the process of neurodegeneration begins. Once disease-modifying therapies become available, the approach to the diagnosis of Huntington's disease will likely shift from an examination-based clinical diagnosis, to one that includes a more complex combination of imaging, examination, and biomarker analysis.
authors.affiliation: Struthers Parkinson's Center, 6701 Country Club Drive, Golden Valley, MN 55427, USA. nancem@parknicollet.com
authors.forename: Martha A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nance
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D001523:Mental Disorders; D009460:Neurologic Examination