RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Familial psychiatric presentation of Huntington's disease.
JF Journal of Medical Genetics
JO J Med Genet
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 128
OP 131
DO 10.1136/jmg.33.2.128
VO 33
IS 2
A1 S Lovestone
A1 S Hodgson
A1 P Sham
A1 A M Differ
A1 R Levy
YR 1996
UL http://jmg.bmj.com/content/33/2/128.abstract
AB Symptoms of schizophrenia may be encountered in Huntington's disease (HD) but usually when the full clinical syndrome is apparent; prechoreic psychosis is relatively uncommon. We describe a family where all four members affected with HD presented first with a severe psychiatric syndrome, which in three cases was schizophreniform in nature. Two other living members with no current signs of motor disorder have received psychiatric treatment, one for schizophrenia. Concurrence of psychosis and Huntington's disease in this family is unlikely to have occurred by chance, suggesting that there is some feature in this family which gives rise to the psychotic presentation. Families such as this may contribute to the investigation of genetic factors associated with psychiatric illnesses.