Juvenile-HD

HOME

INDEX Page
Tools For Viewing
10 The Most Commonly Asked Questions
Clinical Trials & Research
Huntington's Disease~WeMove Info
Advocacy/Donations/Press Info
Clinical Definition & Search
Facing HD~Family Handbook
JHD Handbook-Chapter 1
JHD Info-Stanford Univ.
Physician's Guide To HD
Caring for People with HD
Physical & Occupational Therapy In HD
Understanding Behaviour in HD-Dr. Jane Paulsen
Understanding Behavioral-Dr. Edmond Chiu
Advanced Stages Caregivers Handbook
First Shift-Certified Nursing Assistants
Activities of Daily Living-HD
Unified HD Rating Scale (UHDRS) Motor Section
Westphal Variant
SECTION 1 - AT RISK
Age & Probability Chart
At Risk For HD-What Next?
At-Risk Checklist
Best Interest of Child?
Crystal Ball?
Food For Thought
Parent Hasn't Tested?
Q&A On Risk of Inheriting JHD
Testing Children
SECTION 2 - GENETIC TESTING
Genetic Disorders & Birth Defects
Genetic Testing for HD
Genetic Counseling-In General
Psychological Impact
Intro: Genetics/Genetic Testing
Prenatal & Preimplanation
Prenatal Testing-In General
o Genetic Testing Resources
o Personal Stories
SECTION 3 - JHD
Coping With The Early Years
Age of HD Appearance
Age of Onset-Historical
Family-HD Underestimated
Children of Parents With HD
Child~Parent Ill
Clinical Description JHD
HD - What Kids Are Saying
HD & Me
JHD-Duration of Illness
JHD-Clinical and Research
JHD Symptoms
Parenting With HD
Patients/Families Coping
Talking With Children About HD
5 Stages of HD
JHD Resources
SECTION 4 - SYMPTOM RECOGNITION
Parent Resources
8 Fears of A Chronic Illness
Anxiety/Apathy/Irritability~HD
Anxiety, Fears & Phobias
Apathy-Physician's Guide
Ataxia
Attention-Perceptual/Unawareness Physician's Guide
Bed/Pressure Sores
Bed/Pressure Ulcer Guideline
Behavior Management
Bi-Polar Disorders
Botulinum toxin therapy
Bradykinesia
Caring Tips
Child Abuse-Reconizing Signs
Chorea-Physician's Guide
Chorea
Cognitive/Decision Making/Impulsivity
Cognitive-Short Tips
Contractures~Joints Locking
Dehydration-Physician's Guide
Dehydration
Delirium
Denial of HD
Depression~Physician's Guide
Depression-Understanding It
Depression-How To Help
Depression - Treatment Resistant Patient
Depression-Other Resources
-Read If Your Child Is On Antidepressant
Disgust - Impaired Recognition in HD
Dissociative disorders
Driving - Physician's Guide
Dyslexia
Dyslexia Resources
Dystonia
Dystonia/Rigidity & Spasticity Physician's Guide
Dystonia-Predominant Adult-Onset HD
Epileptic Seizures and Epilepsy
Epilepsy-Seizures~PG
-Seizures ~Special Populations
Falling~Safety
Falling - Subdural Hematoma Risk
Fevers - Unexplained
Fevers, sweating & menstural cycles in HD
GERD (Stomach)
HD Principle Treatments
Hallucinations/Psychosis~PGHD
Hand muscle reflexes in HD
Hypothalamus - A Personal Theory
Insomia ~Physician's Guide
Irritability~Temper Outburst Physician's Guide
Learning Disability
Mania/OCD~Physician's Guide
Mood Disorder Rate In HD
Myoclonus (Movements)
Nails-What To Look For
Night Terrors
Obsessive Compulsive OCD
Panic Disorder
Personality disorders
Pneumonia
Pneumonia-Advanced Stages
Pneumonia - Aspirated (Inhaled)
Prosody - Social Impairment
Sexuality~Physician's Guide
Skins Sensitivity
Sleep Disorders
Smoking-Physician's Guide
Spasticity
Stress
Tremors
Why Certain Symptoms Occur
Symptom & Treatment Resources
SECTION 5 - COMMUNICATION
Communication Resources
Communication Problems
Communication Strategies For HD~Jeff Searle
SECTION 6 - EATING/SWALLOWING/NUITRITION
Hints For Weight Loss in HD
HD & Diet~HSA Fact Sheet 7
Nutrients: Some Possible Deficiency Symptoms
Nutrition and HD~Anna Gaba (Recipes)
Nutrition Information In HD~Naomi Lundeen
Speech & Swallowing~Lynn Rhodes
Swallowing & Nutrition Physician's Guide To HD
Swallowing & Nuitrition Resources
Swallowing Warning Signs
5 Swallowing Problems
Taste changes in HD
Weight Gain
Resources-Drinks/Shakes
-Feeding Tubes~Advanced Stages of HD
-Feeding Tube~Jean Miller
-Feeding Tubes: One More Word ~Jean Miller
-Feeding Tubes & Baby Foods
-Feeding Tube~Dental Care
-Feeding Tube Instructions~Jean Miller
-Feeding Tube Resources
SECTION 7 - THERAPIES
Finding a Therapist - Behavoir
What Is A Physiotherapist?
Physical Therapy In HD
Speech-Language Therapy
Therapy Descriptions
Therapy Resources- Easter Seal
Therapy Resources
SECTION 8 - MEDICATIONS
HD Treatments
Medications-Movement Disorders
Medication/Emergency Info Forms
Cutting Prescriptions
Drugs-Look 'Em Up
-Adolescents Under 25
-Antidepressant Adverse Effects
-Anti-psychotic
-Anxiety-Antidepressant
A-Z Mental Health Drugs
-Creatine
-EPA~Fish Oil
-Haldol/Haloperidol - Clinical Sheet
-Haldol~Clinician Description
-Haldol & HD
-Haldol/HD Patient Experiences
-Haldol~ Patient Handout
-Mood Stabilizers: ASK 3 Questions
-Neuroleptic Malignant Synd WARNING
-Olanzipine-Risperidone/blood tests
-Celexa/Luvox/Paxil/Prozac/Zoloft
-Psychiatric Drugs & Children
Sertraline ~Zoloft
-Spasticity Meds/Treatments
-SSRI Medications
-Tardive Dyskinesia WARNING
-Weight Gain Medications
-Sites/Help the Medicine Go Down
-Vitamin & Mineral Deficiencies
SECTION 9 - SURGERIES
Surgery-Movement Disorders
o Surgery Resources
SECTION 10 - PROCEDURES
Clinic Visits-How To Prepare
CT Scans, MRI's etc.
Swallowing Tests
Tests Commonly Used
o Procedures Resources
SECTION 11- ALCOHOL/DRUGS
Alcohol-Parent's Guide
Alcohol-Talking To Your Child
Drugs-What To Do?
Drugs-Talking To Your Child
Disciplining-Ages 0-13 & Up
SECTION 12- SUICIDE
Straight Talk On Suicide
Teen Suicide-You Need To Know
o Suicide Resources
SECTION 13 - DIVORCE
Divorce & Child Stress
Tips For Divorcing Parents
SECTION 14 - DISABILITY ISSUES
Guides To Disability Issues
Caring-Child & Medical Technology
Caring for a Seriously Ill Child
Child Long Term Illness
Disability-Special Education Plan
IFSP Early Intervention Process
Disability Resources
Financial Planning
Wishes Can Come True-Children's Wish Foundations
Special Needs Resources
Special Needs Camp - About
Special Needs Camp - Finding One
SECTION 15 - ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Child Assistive Technology
Adaptive Equipment Resources
Products
SECTION 16 - EMOTIONAL ISSUES
Signs of Unhealthy Self-Esteem
Emotional Behavior Links
o Emotional Support Resources
SECTION 17 - GRIEF
Helping Child Deal With Death
o Grief Addtional Resources
SECTION 18 - ADD/ADHD
ADD & Teens
Conduct Disorders
FAQS & Related Info
Understanding AD/HD
What Is AD/HD?
Research Articles
Resources
SECTION 19 - HD SUPPORT GROUPS
HD Support Groups
National Youth Association
SECTION 20 - HD LINKS
HD Links
Related Resources
Tips For Friends
SECTION 21 - BENEFITS/INSURNACE
HD Disability
Benefits Check UP - See What You Can Get
Medical Insurance Bureau's Facts On You!
Medicare-Medicaid
Medicare Rights-Home Health & Hospice
Medicare Rights Center Resources
No Insurance? Try This!
Prescription Drug Cards Part I
Prescription Drug Cards Part II
Social Security-Children With Disabilities
SECTION 22 - ARTICLES/JHD
JHD and ADD
SECTION 23 - CAREGIVING
Articles-Resources
Caregiver Self-Assessment
Caregiver's Handbook
"First Shift With A Person With HD"
Getting Respite Care/Help At Home
Helpful Forms-Info
Home Emergency Preparations
Symptom Management
Ten Tips
Useful Tools
SECTION 24 - BIO
Our Personal Experience
Coping At The End
Kelly E. Miller
Song & Verse
Letter From My Heart
GUESTBOOK
-Haldol & HD

INDEX Page

Question:  
What does Haldol actually do to a person with HD?  My husband was recently diagnosed with HD, his doctor has mentioned it, but just curious.  I have not heard very many positive things about it.
 
Answer:
Haldol usually makes a person lethargic, sleeping a lot, losing interest in everything, seemingly/really? depressed plus long term use of this older-type medication can cause Tardive dyskinesia, Tardive dystonia and Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome both devastating in themselves.  Families have reported thinking an accelerated decline in a loved ones conditions was because of HD.......when they were weaned of Haldol, miracles happened and a lot of those symptoms disappeared.
 
Per Dr. Dubinksy who used to participate on Hunt Dis (see message below), he has indicated that there are times when Haldol may be the only medication that helps a person with HD after other medications have been tried. There are two or three people on Hunt-Dis/HD Caregiver's who have had success with Haldol when other meds didn't work.
 
I would guess in 90+% of the families on Hunt-Dis who have had experience with Haldol (prescribed for everything from depression, chorea, ODC, etc.) that there were major improvements once the drug was stopped.
 
Haldol should never be stopped suddenly but a person needs to be gradually taken off this drug.  I would discuss this further with your husband's doctor before allowing your husband to take it.  
========================================================================
Haldol is contraindicated for HD :
Persons with HD (Phds) given Haldol may suffer with accelerated HD.
 
The Evidence That Haldol Harms Phd
BDNF Rescues Brain Cells
Haldol decreases BDNF
Haldol Causes Cell Death
Haldol Causes Memory Impairment
Haldol Causes Increased Aggression
Also see:
http://www.mentalhealth
And  http://www.hdlighthouse.org/see/drugs/haldol/haldol4.htm
 
Lesions of the basal ganglia are common in HD. Contraindications indicate when NOT to prescribe that particular medication.   To the list of CNS effects reported to be associated with haloperidol/haldol, add Tardive Dystonia. 
 
Tardive Dystonia is characterized by delayed onset of choreic or dystonicmovements, is often persistent, and has the potential of becoming irreversible. In other words, it can establish a source or cause of choreic movements (manifested later) in addition to HD being a source of choreic movements.
 
The caudate nucleus is part of the basal ganglia.   Lesions of the basal ganglia are not just common in HD, they are essential to a final diagnosis of symptomatic HD.  If an autopsy is performed on someone whom everyone is positive died from a complication of advanced HD, and no lesions of the basal ganglia are found at least prior to the days of verification of the HD gene the doctors would conclude it might have been something similar to HD but it was other than HD.
 
Haloperidol/haldol is contraindicated for use with people who have lesions of the basal ganglia which, by definition, are people who have symptomatic HD
===========================================================
 
INFORMATION OF INTEREST TO HD PATIENTS
9/4/97   Dr. Dubinsky wrote: Haloperidol is a non-selective dopamine receptor blocker and can be used safely with sertraline and lorazepam. Decisions about medications are best made between a clinician who is experienced in the treatment of HD and a well informed patient and their well informed family.  While there are texts and scientific papers about the treatment of the symptoms of HD, they are not written on stone.
========================================================
January 2002   Note:  how this  says Haldol and like drugs can cause symptoms that resemble HD!! You must be  registered on Medscape to access the URL

MedscapeWire
http://www.medscape.com/MedscapeWire/2002/01/medwire.0103.New.html
New Generation Antipsychotic Drug Cuts Relapse Rate in Patients With Schizophrenia
 
NEW YORK (MedscapeWire) Jan 03 - A second-generation antipsychotic drug lowers the risk of relapse in patients with schizophrenia by nearly half, according to a team of researchers, led by psychiatrists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Results of the 2-year, multicenter study are reported in the January 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. This article says, in part:
 
  •     Haloperidol and other traditional antipsychotic drugs block activity in brain cells atthe neuron's dopamine receptor. Newer drugs like risperidone block the dopaminereceptor, but they also act at other receptors, such as the serotonin receptor.
  • Past studies have shown the newer drugs seem to be more effective and cause feweradverse effects, at least in the short term.
Antipsychotic drugs can have adverse effects on the central nervous system. After years on such drugs, some patients develop symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease. Over many years, some even develop a chronic movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia, a condition
that resembles Huntington's chorea
.
 
The newer drugs, such as risperidone, have fewer neurological adverse effects.
 
Despite the dramatic change in rates of relapse, Csernansky says more immediate differences observed in study patients were subtle.
 
"Risperidone had benefits in terms of causing amodest reduction in symptoms and side effects, but it's interesting that those benefits were
relatively small. One wouldn't necessarily notice a large change in symptoms, at least in the short term," he says.
 
Unfortunately, he says the cost difference between the 2 drugs may influence some clinicians and managed care plans to continue to favor the older drug, but he says the cost of relapse also must be included in the equation.
 
NOTE:
Haldol and risperidone worsen HD by decreasing  BDNF.  http://HDLighthouse/see/drugs/risperidone.htm 
=======================================================================
The Mental Health site http://www.mentalhealth.com/fr30.html  has the most accurate information about drugs than any sites of US origin.  It is the best site  for trusted information and provides all the research data used in  clinical trials. Some commonly prescribed medication for HD are:
 
Haloperidol/Haldol:     http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-h02.html  Antipsychotic
Risperidone/Risperdal  http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-r05.html  Antipsychotic Agent
Olanzapine/Zyprexa    http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-o02.html  Antipsychotic Agent
Valproate/Depakene, Valproate, Valrelease http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-d02.html  Seizures
Diazepam/T-Quil, Valium
 Anxiolytic/Sedative/Muscle Relaxant