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A Controlled Psychiatric Study of Individuals at Risk for Huntington's Disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Raj S. Shiwach  and
C. Gail Norbury
Raj S. Shiwach*
Affiliation:
Deal Mental Health Centre, Deal, Kent
C. Gail Norbury
Affiliation:
Churchill Hospital, Oxford
*
Dr Raj S. Shiwach, Terrell State Hospital, P. O. Box 70, 1200 E. Brin, Texas 75160, USA
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Abstract

Background

The study tested specific hypotheses that (a) there is an increased incidence of psychiatric disorders in asymptomatic heterozygotes for Huntington's disease (HD) compared with the normal homozygotes, and (b) there is an increased incidence of psychiatric disorders in the adult offspring of Huntington's disease patients compared with their partners.

Method

A controlled study was made of 93 apparently healthy individuals (at 50% risk), who had given DNA samples for the predictive test, and 70 of their partners. Current and past psychopathology was assessed and compared with the DNA predictive test results based on linkage analyses. The results of psychiatric assessments of the two groups were compared.

Results

DNA test results were available for 53 subjects (of 93). Five subjects at risk for HD were omitted from the study. The asymptomatic heterozygotes (n = 20) showed no significant increase in the incidence of any psychiatric episode, depression, schizophrenia or behavioural disorder when compared with the normal homozygotes (n = 33). The whole tested group showed a significantly greater number of psychiatric episodes than their partners (n = 43).

Conclusions

Asymptomatic HD gene carriers do not have a greater incidence of psychiatric disorders than the non-gene carriers born to a HD parent.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 165 , Issue 4 , October 1994 , pp. 500 - 505
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1994 

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