HD: Mode of Onset and Progression; Creatine Trial (AAN 2002)

Subject: HD: Mode of Onset and Progression; Creatine Trial (AAN 2002)

Date: 4/25/2002

E-MOVE reports from the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 13-20, in Denver Colorado. Poster numbers, session numbers, and pages are from Neurology 2002;58(supplement 7).

1. Huntington’s disease: Does mode of onset determine disease course?
N Mahant, EA McCusker, S Graham, Huntington Study Group
S46.001; A333

Rate of progression of HD is not influenced by the major type of symptom present at onset, according to this study.

Disease progression from onset was tracked using the UHDRS in 1024 HD patients for a mean of 2.3 years. No correlation was found between mode of onset—primarily motor versus primarily cognitive/psychiatric—and rate of progression. Progression of cognitive symptoms and negative motor features correlated with progression of disability, while neither chorea nor dystonia did. Younger age of onset predicted faster progression.

2. Oral creatine supplementation in patients with Huntington’s disease
P Verbessem, P Hespel, R Dom

Forty-one patients were randomized to 5 g daily creatine or placebo for 12 months. No differences were seen between the two groups on a variety of cognitive or motor function measures. A previous report on a trial of creatine for HD is archived at http://www.wemove.org/emove/article.asp?ID=328
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2002 E-MOVE conference reports are made possible in part through unrestricted educational grants from Elan Pharmaceuticals, Glaxo SmithKline, and Pharmacia Corporation.

E-MOVE Editor: Richard Robinson, NASW, WE MOVE

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