Subjective sleep problems in Huntington's disease Essay

Title Subjective sleep problems in Huntington's disease A pilot investigation of the relationship to brain structure, neurocognitive, and neuropsychiatric function.
Journal Journal of the Neurological Sciences
APA style citation
Baker, C. R., Stout, J. C., Gabery, S., Churchyard, A., Chua, P., Egan, G. F., ... & Poudel, G. R. (2016). Subjective sleep problems in Huntington's disease A pilot investigation of the relationship to brain structure, neurocognitive, and neuropsychiatric function. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 364, 148-153.
A) Huntington's Disease has been the focus of various research experiments for many years. Thanks to the consistent research that has been done in this field, we have come to learn many things about this disease and have been able to find ways to assist patients suffering with this disease. One of these many studies is the focus of this article. The study discussed in this article focuses on the sleeping problems of patients with Huntington's Disease. The purpose of this study was to look at if there is a connection between sleep problems in people with Huntington's Disease and brain volume, neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms. This particular type of research would be helpful in finding way to help patients in order to improve their health in any way possible. Researchers hypothesized that participants with the mutant Huntington's Disease gene who had reported sleep problems would display an increased decline in sleep-critical structures, as well as a greater neurocognitive decline and neuropsychiatric symptoms in comparison to those participants with no reported sleep problems.
B) Data collected from a previous neuroimaging study were used as a baseline for this study. Participants (N=67) went through a series of neurological and psychological assessments, as well as questionnaires that asked about their sleep patterns. Sleep pattern data was used in order to be able to divide participants into one of four groups Pre- Huntington's Disease with sleep problems, Pre- Huntington's Disease without sleep problems, Huntington's Disease patients with sleep problems, and Huntington's Disease patients without sleep problems. Neurological and psychiatric data was then analyzed and compared among the groups.
C) Researchers found that there were structural brain, neurocognitive, and neuropsychiatric differences between participants who were carriers of Huntington's Disease and Huntington's Disease patient groups who had reported that they had sleep problems. The data collected suggests that there more neuropsychiatric problems in those that reported having sleep problems compared to those with no sleeping problems. Researchers did state that although an exact causation for the differences between the groups, the results did hint at sleep as an important factor in huntington's Disease patients displaying symptoms.
D) With the findings of this study, researchers have come to learn that there is a connection between sleep problems being related to the mental health decline that Huntington's Disease patients experience. This study was the first to look at the possible connection between sleep problems in Huntington's Disease patients and their decline in health. This study may not have answered all the researchers' questions but it has provided new knowledge about Huntington's Disease.