Age-Related Cognitive Changes as a Function of CAG Repeat in Child and Adolescent Carriers of Mutant Huntingtin.

Limited data exists regarding the disease course of Huntington's Disease (HD) in children and young adults. Here, we evaluate the trajectory various cognitive skill development as a function of CAG repeat length in children and adolescents that carry the mutation that causes HD. We discovered that the development of verbal skills seems to plateau earlier as CAG repeat length increases. These findings increase our understanding of the relationship between neurodegeneration and neurodevelopment and may have far-reaching implications for future gene-therapy treatment strategies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.