Pharmacologic Approaches to the Treatment of Huntington's Disease

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. (C) 2011 Movement Disorder Society