The early symptoms of HD can include:
Apart from the physical symptoms of HD, there are often very subtle intellectual or emotional signs as well, such as:
If a person has emotional outbursts, does something clumsy or forgets a task it is not necessarily a sign that they have HD. These things can be just as easily experienced by a person who does not have the defective gene at all.
If you would like to talk to someone about the HD symptoms in more detail see "How can I get more information and help?"
As HD progresses the early physical, intellectual and emotional symptoms become more marked.
In many cases the person with HD will develop involuntary movements like jerks and twitches of the head, neck, arms and legs. Sometimes, people with HD will develop rigid muscles instead of involuntary movement.
All of these physical symptoms can make walking, speech, swallowing and other basic tasks more difficult as the disease progresses.
[This page is based on the Association's publication Huntington's Disease. Originally written by Dennis H. Phillips, Ph.D. and first published in 1981, it has been frequently revised and republished since then. The current edition was published in 2001. (Australian Huntington's Disease Association (NSW) Inc. Huntington's Disease West Ryde, 2001.)]
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