Huntington's disease; Painless or Painful? Pain and Cognition in Huntington 's disease.

Statema, M. (Monique) (2009) Huntington's disease; Painless or Painful? Pain and Cognition in Huntington 's disease. thesis, Human Movement Sciences.

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Abstract

Background: Studies on pain in Huntington's disease (HD) are rare. Only one study from 1988 reported two HD patients having unusual pain experiences (Albin & Young, 1988). In the present study, it is investigated whether pain is a symptom of HD and if there is a relationship between pain and cognition in HD. Due to the neuropathology of HD, it is hypothesized that there exists an altered pain processing in the lateral as well as the medial pain system. Methods: Pain experience and cognitive functioning of 19 HD patients was compared to data of 15 healthy age-matched persons. Age, education, vital and gnostic sensibility, comorbidity, and drug use were registered. Cognitive functioning was measured by neuropsychological tests, pain experience was assessed by the Colored Analogue Scale for Pain Intensity and for Pain Mfect, the Number of Words Chosen-Affective (NWC-A) and the Faces Pain Scale (FPS). Level of depression and anxiety were evaluated by questionnaires. Results: Although not significant, negative correlations have been observed between pain and cognition in HD patients. There were no significant differences between HD patients and the control group concerning pain intensity and affect. Discussion/Conclusion: HD patients showed no significant altered pain intensity and affect compared to their healthy control group. More studies are needed to investigate the relationship between pain and cognition in HD patients. It is noteworthy that the HD patients had an altered vital and gnostic sensibility. If future studies confirm or extend the present findings, it is important to pay more attention to pain or an altered sensibility in healthcare ofHD patients.

Item Type:	Thesis (Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Scherder, Prof. Dr. E.J.A. and VU amsterdam
Faculty:	Medical Sciences
Date Deposited:	25 Jun 2020 11:02
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2020 11:02
URI:	https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2249

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