Cognitive stratification in Huntington's disease - STRAT-HD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The identification of distinct cognitive profiles in individuals with premanifest or early stage Huntington’s disease - The STRAT-HD study
IRAS ID
188929
Contact name
Roger Barker
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Huntington's disease is associated with a characteristic cognitive profile that reflects a loss of functional integrity in the networks that link the basal ganglia to the frontal lobe regions (the frontostriatal networks). This leads to symptoms such as slow processing speed, low verbal fluency and poor working memory, and behaviourally with problems of motivation, difficulties with social interactions and poor risk assessment. In some people, these abnormalities can often occur very early in the disease and even prior to the onset of motor symptoms. This typically coincides with the same time that patients’ functional performance begins to decline leading to difficulties with occupational performance.
However, it is very clear from our previous research and our clinical experiences that people with HD present with very different symptoms from each other. It is believed by many clinicians and researchers that all patients with HD will develop dementia at some point during their illness but we have evidence that this is not the case. A study that we recently published showed that nearly 25% of patients in the late stages of the disease still did not meet the criteria to be diagnosed with dementia. Better understanding why some patients develop early cognitive changes will help perfect the clinical management for all patients by allowing them to access the relevant information, resources and support that allows them to receive the best care possible.
REC name
London - West London & GTAC Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/0992
Date of REC Opinion
24 May 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion