Abstract
Background
Huntington's Disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder. Clinical features encompass a broad spectrum of movement disorders, psychiatric and cognitive symptoms, often progressing to dementia and imposing a substantial burden on patients and their families. While cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine are often used for symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias, there is currently no approved medication for treating cognitive symptoms in HD.
Objective
We aim to review, summarize, and appraise evidence from the literature for the use of cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine in the treatment of cognitive symptoms in patients with HD.
Methods
A searched was conducted in PubMed and SCOPUS, from inception until February 2024, for Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs), open-label, and case-control studies. Quality appraisal was performed using ROBINS-I and ROB2 for non-randomized studies and RCTs, respectively.
Results
Five eligible studies (three RCTs, one extension study, and one retrospective case-control), exploring the use of rivastigmine (n = 3), memantine (n = 1), and donepezil (n = 1) were found. Only two had a follow-up period longer than eight months. Previous cognitive functioning was not specified in three out of five studies. Cognitive measures varied widely, with Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale and Mini-Mental State Exam being used more frequently. None of the studies showed a significant improvement in cognitive function. Side effects occurred in up to 50% of patients and were usually considered mild.
Conclusions
There is insufficient evidence in the literature to support the use of cholinesterase inhibitors or memantine for cognitive symptoms in patients with HD.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
