Huntington's Disease : Complications

Loss of ability to care for self; Loss of ability to interact; Injury to self or others; Increased risk of infection; Depression; Death.

The person with Huntington disease may be able to maintain a job for several years after diagnosis, despite the increase in disability. Loss of cognitive functions and increase in motor and behavioral symptoms eventually prevent the person with HD...

Prognosis has historically been somewhat bleak for people with HD. Complications related to movement abnormalities and immobility, such as pneumonia and respiratory complications, are a common cause of death in HD. Though no cure is currently avai...

The person with Huntington disease may be able to maintain a job for several years after diagnosis, despite the increase in disability. Loss of cognitive functions and increase in motor and behavioral symptoms eventually prevent the person with HD...

The person with Huntington disease may be able to maintain a job for several years after diagnosis, despite the increase in disability. Loss of cognitive functions and increase in motor and behavioral symptoms eventually prevent the person with HD...

Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods. True clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for an extended period of time. See also: Adolescent depression; Depression in the elderly.

Depression, also known as depressive disorders or unipolar depression, is a mental illness characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep, appetite, and mental processes are a common accompaniment.

Depression is sometimes referred to as the common cold of mental illness. It is a debilitating disease with significant societal costs. It is, however, one of the most clearly defined and treatable of mental illnesses. Technically, the term "depression" is used to cover a variety of symptomatic conditions, all characterized by negative mood and a loss of pleasure. Together these conditions comprise a spectrum ranging from major depression to dysthymia to adjustment reactions to normal grief and sadness. At one extreme of this continuum lies major depressive disorder, a syndrome characterized by severe episodes of depressed mood accompanied by loss of sleep, appetite, concentration, energy, and hope. The depressed mood must persist for greater than two weeks in order to warrant this diagnosis. At the other end of the continuum lies the diagnosis of dysthymia, which is characterized by a lower level of mood disturbance that persists chronically; that is, involving more days than not for a period of two years or greater. Many patients complain of depressed mood but do not fit neatly into either of these two categories. These patients' symptoms are frequently best accounted for as a reaction to an acute life stressor. These reactions are typically nonpathological and resolve with time, but they may constitute an adjustment reaction if normal functioning is sufficiently disturbed. Depression is both common and costly. It has a lifetime prevalence of 5 to 10 percent of women and 2 to 5 percent of men. It is an expensive disorder in both direct and indirect terms, as depression causes a higher degree of functional disability than many medical illnesses including diabetes, chronic lung disease, and arthritis. Additional costs to society result from the effect of untreated depression on the treatment of medical illnesses, where it contributes to longer hospital stays and morbidity. This has been particularly well demonstrated in the treatment of myocardial infarction (heart attack), where the presence of major depression has consistently been found to increase mortality. Depressive illness is thought to result from a combination of biological and psychological factors. The biological component is strongly suggested by the high genetic concordance of depressive disorders. In the twenty-first century, there are various competing theories about the nature of this genetic/biological contribution, but the available data do not yet indicate the specific nature of the illness. The psychological component is similarly suggested by the correlation of onset of major depression with negative life events and with the increased risk of depression in individuals who experienced abuse in childhood. A variety of psychological theories exist and are linked to models of psychotherapeutic treatment. Interpersonal psychotherapists, for example, emphasize the role of grieving due to the loss of an important relationship or a transition in social roles (e.g., transition from working to retirement, marriage to divorce). Cognitive therapists emphasize a mind-set of construing life events in a way that leads to depression. Alternately, psychodynamic therapists search for the ways that unconscious coping processes and repetitive relational patterns result in negative effects. A commonly postulated mechanism would include the turning of anger in on the self. For example, a depressed woman may feel critical of herself rather than direct her anger toward an abusive spouse. Treatment of depression parallels theories of etiology in that both biological and psychological treatments exist and have been efficacious. A number of different antidepressant medications have been developed, including monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). These medicines have demonstrated efficacy in both the treatment of acute depressive episodes and in the prevention of relapses. A variety of psychological therapie

Self-mutilation is a general term for a variety of forms of intentional self-harm without the wish to die. Cutting one's skin with razors or knives is the most common pattern of self-mutilation. Others include biting, hitting, or bruising oneself; picking or pulling at skin or hair; burning oneself with lighted cigarettes, or amputating parts of the body.

Self-mutilation, also called self-harm, self-injury or cutting, is the intentional destruction of tissue or alteration of the body done without the conscious wish to commit suicide , usually in an attempt to relieve tension.

The skills needed to use language (spoken, written, signed, or otherwise communicated) to interact with others, and problems related to the development of these skills. Experts in child development generally agree that all babies develop skills for spoken and written language according to a specific developmental schedule, regardless of the language being learned. Although the milestones follow one another in roughly the same sequence, there is significant variability from child to child as to when the first word is spoken and the first sentence is composed. The accompanying table illustrates the developmental milestones for communication. Language employs symbols—words, gestures, or spoken sounds—to represent objects and ideas. Communication of language begins with spoken sounds combined with gestures, relying on two different types of skills. Children first acquire the skills to receive communications, that is, listening to and understanding what they hear (supported by accompanying gestures); next, COMMUNICATION MILESTONES Age Milestone 0-12 months Responds to speech by looking at the speaker; responds differently to aspects of speaker's voice (such as friendly or angry, male or female). Turns head in direction of sound. Responds with gestures to greetings such as "hi," "bye-bye," and "up" when these words are accompanied by appropriate gesture by speaker. Stops ongoing activity when told "no" when speaker uses appropriate gesture and tone. May say two or three words by around 12 months of age, although probably not clearly. Repeats some vowel and consonant sounds (babbles) when alone or spoken to; attempts to imitate sounds. 12-24 months Responds correctly when asked "where?" Understands prepositions on, in, and under; understands simple phrases (such as "Get the ball."). Says 8-10 words by around age 18 months; by age two, vocabulary will include 20-50 words, mostly describing people, common objects, and events (such as "more" and "all gone"). Uses single word plus a gesture to ask for objects. Refers to self by name; uses "my" or "mine." 24-36 months Points to pictures of common objects when they are named. Can identify objects when told their use Understands questions with "what" and "where" and negatives "no," "not," "can't," and "don't." Responds to simple directions. Selects and looks at picture books; enjoys listening to simple stories, and asks for them to be read aloud again. Joins two vocabulary words together to make a phrase. Can say first and last name. Shows frustration at not being understood. 36-48 months Begins to understand time concepts, such as "today," "later," "tomorrow," and "yesterday." Understands comparisons, such as "big" and "bigger." Forms sentences with three or more words. Speech is understandable to most strangers, but some sound errors may persists (such as "t" sound for "k" sound). 48-60 months By 48 months, has a vocabulary of over 200 words. Follows two or three unrelated commands in proper order. Understands sequencing of events ("First we have to go to the grocery store, and then we can go to the playground"). Asks questions using "when," "how," and "why." Talks about causes for things using "because". COMMUNICATION MILESTONES Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 60-72 months By 60 months, can identify rhyming words. There are few obvious differences between child's grammar and adult grammar. Still needs to learn subject-verb agreement, and may not have mastered all irregular verbs. Can carry on a conversation. Communicates with family, friends, and strangers, and responds with information appropriately. they will begin experimenting with expressing themselves through speaking and gesturing. Speaking will begin as repetitive syllables, followed by words, phrases, and sentences. Later, children will acquire the skills of reading and writing, the written forms of communication. Although milestones are discussed for the development of these skills of communica

Communication skills are the skills needed to use language (spoken, written, signed, or otherwise communicated) to interact with others, and communication disorders are problems related to the development of these skills.

Self-care behavior, a key concept in health promotion, refers to decisions and actions that an individual can take to cope with a health problem or to improve his or her health. Examples of self-care behaviors include seeking information (e.g., reading books or pamphlets, searching the Internet, attending classes, joining a self-help group); exercising; seeing a doctor on a regular basis; getting more rest; lifestyle changes; following low fat diets; monitoring vital signs; and seeking advice through lay and alternative care networks, evaluating this information, and making decisions to act or even to do nothing. Self-care is generally viewed as a complement to professional health care for persons with chronic health conditions. Self-care behavior is, however, broader than just following a doctor's advice. It also encompasses an individual's learning from things that have worked in the past. Presumed benefits of self-care include lower costs for the health care system; more effective working relationships between patients and physicians and other health care providers; increased patient satisfaction; and improved perceptions of one's health condition. Self-help behaviors have been shown to lessen pain and depression and to improve quality of life. However, a relationship between self-care behaviors and positive physiological outcomes has not been proven. Generally, health care practitioners encourage and support patients to practice self-care behaviors because patients then actively participate in their own care. However, many practitioners experience difficulty in offering advice on self-care behaviors because they are not aware of specific techniques, strategies, and supports that patients can use. Within a health promotion context that views health as a resource for daily living, self-care is seen as empowering. Through acquisition of self-care skills, people are able to participate more actively in fostering their own health and in shaping conditions that influence their own health.