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Huntington's disease — the experiences of voluntary organisations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Brian O'Shea*
Affiliation:
Newcastle Hospital, Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland
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Huntington's disease is associated with a considerable psychiatric morbidity and mortality. These risks are not confined to the sufferer. The relations of victims, both biological and legal, are also at high risk for significant psychosocial dysfunction (O'Shea & Falvey, 1988). Despite recent advances in genetic research, there is still no cure for this chronic choreodementia syndrome. Medical management is confined to palliation of symptoms. The doctor and the patient's family, in the face of this unpleasant disease, are wont to exercise a variety of psychological defences which may hinder the delivery and receipt of adequate support (Martindale, 1987).

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Articles
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1989

References

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Martindale, B. (1987) Huntington's chorea: some psychodynamics seen in those at risk and in the responses of the helping professions. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 319323.Google Scholar
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O'Shea, B. & Falvey, J. (1988) Huntington's disease: update of the literature. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 5, 6170.Google Scholar
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