Thirty patients with Huntington's disease, a genetically transmitted
neuropsychiatric disorder that can be diagnosed reliably, were evaluated
systematically for psychopathology, followed for extended periods, and
treated with psychopharmacological medications when necessary. DSM-III
criteria were used for establishing syndromic diagnoses. Twenty-four
individuals demonstrated substantial behavioral abnormalities, including
affective and schizophrenic syndromes, changes of personality, and
disorders that could not be classified adequately. Pharmacotherapy was
modestly beneficial in some cases. Consideration of the array of behavioral
disturbances encountered in this pathogenetically unified disorder suggests
that a dimensional approach to symptom classification might prove more
useful heuristically than present typological methods.Abstract Teaser