Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in cognitive impairment in Huntington’s disease: A brief review

Abstract

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with cognitive deficits. Cognitive dysfunction may be present in the early stages of the disease, even before the onset of motor symptoms. The cognitive dysfunction includes executive dysfunction, psychomotor symptoms, visuospatial deficits, perceptual deficits, memory loss and difficulty learning new skills. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors have shown good effect in the treatment of other types of dementia and it is postulated that it might delay cognitive decline in HD. We reviewed the evidence for Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in the treatment of cognitive decline and dementia associated with Huntington’s disease. We identified 6 articles that investigated the role of Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for treatment of cognitive deficits in Huntington’s disease. Following the review, the authors concluded that there is limited evidence for the use of Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for cognitive impairment in HD.

Keywords: Huntington’s disease, Huntington’s dementia, Cognitive deficits, Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, Donepezil, Rivastigmine, Galantamine

Core tip: The evidence for Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in the treatment of cognitive decline and dementia associated with Huntington’s disease is reviewed in this article. Six articles were identified that investigated the role of Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for treatment of cognitive deficits in Huntington’s disease (HD). We concluded that there is limited evidence for the use of Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for cognitive impairment in HD.