Hi all, first timer here. My 54 y/o wife has HD. cag is 41. Her mother had a 44. While she has many symptoms; depression, balance, memory, so on, it got me wondering about Alzheimers, Parkinsons and so on. What would prevent someone with HD from also getting these or other diseases? Thanks, jim

Welcome to the site,

I am only a spouse, but it seems reasonable that other diseases can exist in the same brain as HD.

My ex has the same CAG of 41, plus a diagnosed learning disability from early years. Tested gene positive at age 52, diagnosed with clinical HD at 55.Left the workforce at 54. Living independently and still driving at 60.

The HD assessments indicate that the cognitive functions have declined more quickly than the physical.

But we are a sample of one. I would like to hear others comments about this.

CP

Thanks for the reply. Sounds very similar. She was an HR Director for years but the numbers and attention to detail went first. Drives maybe 2x a month. Very much a homebody now. And you are right- cognitive is way worse than the physical so far. That's what made me think of the question. Maybe some people have the CAG for HD but are we ignoring looking at other diseases because of the cag.

People with HD can get other diseases too. However, HD has varied symptoms which can overlap with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. HD and AD share some cognitive symptoms. Also, about one out of eight adults with HD have more Parkinson's like movement problems than the more common chorea.