Metabolic Alterations Amalgamated with Huntington’s Disease

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a progressive monogenic neurodegenerative disease typified by loss of motor, psychiatric and cognitive function with no known cure. Additionally, the concomitant occurrence of metabolic disturbances including unintended weight loss has also been reported in HD patients. However, the pathophysiology remains largely unclear. The underlying pathophysiology comes further complex due to the ubiquitous expression of the causative huntingtin (HTT) gene. Research studies indicate functional changes in the peripheral organs of patients reflecting the involvement of peripheral component in metabolic disturbances observed in HD. Links between metabolic phenotype and neurodegeneration have also been suggested in HD patients. Altogether, these observations underscore the complexity of metabolic disturbances occurring in HD and accentuate the need to study this phenomenon in a combinatorial setting. Development of therapeutics targeting metabolic alterations in HD might abrogate some of the comorbidities and can substantially improve the quality of a patient’s life, and might even prevent premature death.