Location
Moultrie, GA
Start Date
17-4-2026 12:00 PM
End Date
17-4-2026 1:00 PM
Description
Huntington’s Disease is a rare neurodegenerative disorder thought to have an incidence of 1.21 per 100,000 patient years and a prevalence of 8.87 per 100,000 patients in North America. It is a progressive neurological disease with common manifestations being motor involvement and behavioral changes caused by the death of neurons primarily in the striatal portion of the basal ganglia. Huntington’s is generally considered a disease of the mid-life though it is noted to occur early (juvenile onset) and later (late onset), however prevalence in the late onset has a wide range of 4.4% to 11.5% which has somewhat been attributed to the general belief that this is a disease affecting those in the mid-decades of their life and will be fatal before the patient can reach older age. In this case report we go over the diagnosis of a female in her early 80’s in the setting of relatively unknown family history after years of misdiagnosis of Tardive Dyskinesia due to choreiform-like movements. The patient was sent to neurology after years of mis-diagnosis and was able to receive EMG and CAG genetic testing which led to the confirmatory diagnosis of Huntington’s. We hope to encourage primary care clinicians to consider other differential diagnoses during the work-up of chorea. Although it will most likely not change management of the condition, it can bring peace of mind to the patient and allow for genetic testing considerations in the relatives of the patient if they so choose as it is autosomal dominant and carries a hereditary risk.
Embargo Period
5-28-2026
Included in
Huntington’s Disease diagnosed in an 82-year-old. What lessons can we learn?
Moultrie, GA
Huntington’s Disease is a rare neurodegenerative disorder thought to have an incidence of 1.21 per 100,000 patient years and a prevalence of 8.87 per 100,000 patients in North America. It is a progressive neurological disease with common manifestations being motor involvement and behavioral changes caused by the death of neurons primarily in the striatal portion of the basal ganglia. Huntington’s is generally considered a disease of the mid-life though it is noted to occur early (juvenile onset) and later (late onset), however prevalence in the late onset has a wide range of 4.4% to 11.5% which has somewhat been attributed to the general belief that this is a disease affecting those in the mid-decades of their life and will be fatal before the patient can reach older age. In this case report we go over the diagnosis of a female in her early 80’s in the setting of relatively unknown family history after years of misdiagnosis of Tardive Dyskinesia due to choreiform-like movements. The patient was sent to neurology after years of mis-diagnosis and was able to receive EMG and CAG genetic testing which led to the confirmatory diagnosis of Huntington’s. We hope to encourage primary care clinicians to consider other differential diagnoses during the work-up of chorea. Although it will most likely not change management of the condition, it can bring peace of mind to the patient and allow for genetic testing considerations in the relatives of the patient if they so choose as it is autosomal dominant and carries a hereditary risk.