Table of Contents
Washington University Experience | NEURODEGENERATION | Huntington Disease | 5A0 Case 5 History
Case 5 History ---- The patient was a 60yo male with a strong family history of Huntington disease that was confirmed by genetic testing. The patient began to have paranoid delusions at age 48. He became more irritable, withdrawn, and quiet with depression. That year he had declining executive function and had to stop working as a chef. Over the next couple of years, his cognitive performance decreased. By age 50, he had stiffness of the trunk with no chorea. His forgetfulness increased. Delusions had resolved with risperidone. At age 52, his balance was worse. By age 53, he had modest chorea and some dystonia, and he started losing weight. By age 53, he needed residential care placement. Later that year, he did not consistently recognize his wife. Parkinsonian features increased and he had modest chorea. He developed increased flexed posturing. Balance worsened with falling by age 54. By age 58, he had increased swallowing problems with aspiration requiring spoon feeding. His weight has dramatically decreased, recently at 112 pounds from 212 pounds at baseline. He stopped eating and drinking for the last 10 days with marked aspiration. He had no urine output and the last six days had a low-grade fever but no known infection. He passed away in January 2019 after a duration of his disease of 12 years. ---- At autopsy the weight of the unfixed brain was 1350g.
