Name: SKY-0515 in Huntington's disease: Long-term morbidity
Published: 2026-09-16T18:00:43-04:00

Loss of functional independence

“Most individuals are forced to give up their employment and depend increasingly on others for help, although they are still able to maintain a considerable degree of personal independence.” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)
“In late stages of HD, motor disability becomes severe, and the individual is often totally dependent, mute, and incontinent.” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)

“They will eventually lose the ability to work, drive, and manage tasks at home, and may qualify for disability benefits.” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)
“People with advanced HD need full-time care to help with their day-to-day activities, and they ultimately succumb to pneumonia, heart failure or other complications.” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)

Neuropsychiatric symptoms and functional capacity: systematic review

“Significant associations with decreased functional capacity were found most commonly with depression (N=7, median r=0.48) and apathy (N=5, median r=0.47).” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)

Falls and injury

“Twenty-seven patients (60%) reported two or more falls in the previous year and were classified as fallers. During prospective follow-up 40% reported at least one fall. A high proportion of falls (72.5%) caused minor injuries.” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)

“Three months before death, anxiety (11% vs. 5%, 2.11, 0.7–5.6, p = 0.15), depression (28% vs. 6%, 4.28, 1.72–8.67, p < 0.001), falls (25% vs. 8%, 2.5, 1.18–4.73, p < 0.05), insomnia (25% vs. 4%, 8.82, 3.62–20.19, p < 0.001) and fractures/breaks/sprains (20% vs. 10%, 1.83, 0.85–3.35, p = 0.09) were more prevalent in HD cases.” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)

Pneumonia, weight loss, dementia, and other comorbidities after diagnosis

“Incidence rates of the following were statistically higher in individuals with HD than controls: psychotic disorders, psychosis, insomnia, dementia, depression, pneumonia, weight loss and falls.” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)
“The most commonly mentioned causes of death (any mention) were HD (78.3%), bronchopneumonia (unspecified) (15.9%), pneumonitis due to food and vomiting (10.4%), unspecified dementia (6.6%) and sepsis (6.6%) (Table S8).” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)

Aspiration pneumonia

“It is most likely that dysphagia is the causative factor for this aspiration pneumonia.” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)

Institutionalization: skilled nursing facility placement

“Among 4,809 subjects enrolled, 3,070 had clinically definite HD. Of these, 228 (7.4%) resided in SNF. The SNF residents' average age was 52 years, average disease duration was 8.6 years, and they were predominantly women (63%).” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)
“In the Cox model, bradykinesia (HR 1.965, 95% CI 1.083 to 3.564), impaired gait (HR 3.004, 95% CI 1.353 to 6.668), and impaired tandem walking (HR 2.546, 95% CI 1.460 to 4.439) were predictive of SNF placement.” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)

Juvenile Huntington's disease: long-term motor morbidity and seizures

“Compared with the LE subgroup, development delay (0 [0%] in the LE subgroup vs nine [90%] in the HE subgroup; p<0·0001), severe gait impairment (nine [35%] in the LE subgroup vs nine [90%] in the HE subgroup; p=0·0072), and seizures (three [11%] in the LE subgroup vs eight [80%] in the HE subgroup; p<0·0001) prevailed over time in the HE subgroup.” (opens the source at this quote in a new tab)