Fight Huntington’s disease with an intellectually stimulating lifestyle

Huntington’s disease is a very serious neurodegenerative disorder of genetic origin that debuts in adulthood, normally around the age of 40. In those affected, a progressive and constant neuronal degeneration occurs that ends up manifesting in a highly disabling triad of motor, cognitive and psychiatric disorders. The genetic cause has long been known and there is a test that allows identifying carriers before the onset of symptoms, but, unfortunately, this disease still has no cure.

Still, biomedical research does not stop. Along these lines, a team of researchers from the Cognition and Brain Plasticity group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), located in Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, ​​as well as the University of Barcelona (UB), in collaboration with other Catalan centers , have discovered that an intellectually active lifestyle or, in other words, cognitive reserve, has a protective effect on the progression and severity of the three types of symptoms of the disease. Years ago, the same group elucidated that this lifestyle provided benefits in cognitive symptoms, but in the new study published in Scientific Reports they demonstrate the transfer of these effects to the other two clinical domains of Huntington’s patients: motor and psychiatric.

To achieve this, predoctoral researcher Audrey De Paepe and other researchers led by Dr. Estela Camara evaluated the cognitive reserve of a group of patients, through factors such as level of education, professional occupation, academic and musical courses, number of languages, reading activity or the frequency with which intellectually complex games such as chess were played. This information was complemented with neuroimaging tests in relation to intellectual activity developed throughout life. Models were also performed to see if there were differences in the typical symptoms of the disease depending on the cognitive lifestyle of the participants.

From left to right, researchers Estela Camara and Audrey De Paepe. (Photo: IDIBELL / UB)

As expected, the results have corroborated that greater mental activity throughout life is a protective factor against neurodegeneration, and allows maintaining a good brain state for longer. In those affected by Huntington’s disease, this appears to translate into a later onset of symptoms of cognitive, motor and psychiatric impairment, possibly due to less brain damage. This would probably allow us to understand part of the differences that had been found in the clinical trajectory of patients with this disease.

Thus, this research has significant implications for the management of Huntington’s disease, as it demonstrates that patients can apply certain preventive strategies to try to slow or potentially delay the progression of the disease (even before diagnosis). Furthermore, it highlights the importance of maintaining good brain health through a cognitively active lifestyle, which is not only beneficial for patients with neurodegenerative diseases but also for the general population.

The study is titled “Cognitive engagement may slow clinical progression and brain atrophy in Huntington’s disease.” And it has been published in the academic journal Scientific Reports. (Source: IDIBELL)