Aspiration pneumonia is pneumonia (infection of the lungs) that happens when food/fluids enter the lungs. It happens mainly in people with serious underlying health conditions (both acute and chronic conditions). For more details, see the image below.

Aspiration Pneumonia

- Aspiration Pneumonia (since HD patients eventually lose their ability to swallow, and food and water can enter the lungs)
- Heart failure (HD affects the heart)
- Suicide (due to patients' desires to avoid end-stage Huntington's, psychiatric issues also play a role)
- Other mechanisms

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

- The striatum -- critical for mood, motor, and behavior control -- is most severely affected, though many other regions get affected in the late stages.
- Hence, motor control (e.g., involuntary movements), behavior control, mental health (e.g., major depression, OCD), and cognition are impaired.
- Patients often describe their condition as having Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ALS simultaneously.

Huntington's Disease (HD) | Symptoms and Brain Regions Affected

Wikipedia

- In the late stages, most of the brain deteriorates, with the striatum being impacted severely. Hence, late-stage symptoms include being unable to work, manage tasks at home, and care for oneself (e.g., cannot bathe).
- Later on, symptoms get even worse. End-stage symptoms include being bed-bound, unable to speak, and eventually unable to swallow.

Huntington's Disease (HD): Late to End Stage Symptoms

- Movement problems
- Involuntary movements

Huntington's Disease (HD) | Motor and Physical Symptoms

In HD patients, mental processing becomes slower and less flexible. Problem-solving, planning, and prioritizing become difficult. However, even in the late stages, memory, language, and conceptual activity persist.

Huntington's Disease (HD) | Cognitive Symptoms

Almost all HD patients will have hypofrontal or dysexecutive syndrome, which is characterized by:
- apathy
- irritability
- impulsivity
- obsessionality

Learn Before

Related

Learn After