Factors influencing cognitive function in patients with Huntington's disease from China: A cross‐sectional clinical study

Abstract

Background and aimHuntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by CAG repeats expansion. Cognitive decline contributes to the loss of daily activity in manifest HD. We aimed to examine the cognition status in a Chinese HD cohort and explore factors influencing the diverse cognitive domains.MethodsA total of 205 participants were recruited in the study with the assessment by neuropsychological batteries, including the mini–mental state examination (MMSE), Stroop test, symbol digit modalities test (SDMT), trail making test (TMT), verbal fluency test (VFT), and Hopkins verbal learning test–revised, as well as motor and psychiatric assessment. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression models were applied to investigate the correlation.ResultsOnly 41.46% of patients had normal global function first come to our center. There was a significantly difference in MMSE, Stroop test, SDMT, TMT, and VFT across each stage of HD patients (p < .05). Apathy of PBA‐s was correlated to MMSE, animal VFT and Stroop‐interference tests performance. Severity of motor symptoms, functional capacity, age, and age of motor symptom onset were correlated to all neuropsychological scores, whereas education attainment and diagnostic delay were correlated to most neuropsychological scores except TMT. Severity of motor symptoms, functional capacity, and education attainment showed independent predicting effect (p < .05) in diverse cognitive domains.ConclusionCognitive impairment was very common in Chinese HD patients at the first visit and worse in the patients in advanced phase. The severity of motor symptoms and functional capacity were correlated to the diverse cognitive domains.

The characteristic and prognostic role of blood inflammatory markers in patients with Huntington’s disease from China

“…In this study, 92 individuals with gene-confirmed HD were recruited between March 2009 and November 2023 in the Department of Neurology at West China Hospital of Sichuan University (Chengdu, China). The participants in this study were from the same cohort as the previous study ( 3 , 26 ). The study received approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee of West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China.…”