Huntington’s disease is a very serious neurodegenerative disorder of genetic origin that debuts in adulthood, usually around the age of 40. Affected individuals suffer from a progressive and constant neuronal degeneration that eventually manifests itself in a triad of highly disabling motor, cognitive and psychiatric impairments. The genetic cause has long been known and a test is available to identify carriers before the onset of symptoms, but unfortunately there is still no cure for the disease.
The triple protective effect of cognitive reserve
Even so, biomedical research does not stop. In this line, a team of researchers from the Cognition and Brain Plasticity group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the University of Barcelona (UB), in collaboration with other Catalan centres, have discovered that an intellectually active lifestyle or, in other words, cognitive reserve, has a protective effect on the progression and severity of the three types of symptoms of the disease. Years ago the same group had elucidated that this lifestyle provided benefits in cognitive symptomatology, but in the new study published in Scientific Reports they demonstrate the transfer of these effects to the other two clinical domains of Huntington’s patients: motor and psychiatric.
To do so, predoctoral researcher Audrey De Paepe and other researchers led by Dr. Estela Camara assessed the cognitive reserve of a group of patients, through factors such as level of education, professional occupation, academic and musical courses, number of languages, reading activity or frequency of playing intellectually complex games such as chess. This information was complemented with neuroimaging tests in relation to lifetime intellectual activity. Modelling was also carried out to see if there were differences in typical symptoms of the disease according to the cognitive lifestyle of the participants.
A new way of understanding Huntington’s disease
As expected, the results have corroborated that increased mental activity throughout life is a protective factor against neurodegeneration, and helps to maintain good brain fitness for longer. In Huntington’s disease patients, this appears to translate into a later onset of cognitive, motor and psychiatric symptoms, possibly due to less brain damage. This would probably help understand some of the differences that have been found in the clinical trajectory of Huntington’s disease patients.
Thus, this research has significant implications for the management of Huntington’s disease, as it demonstrates that patients can apply certain preventive strategies to try to slow or potentially delay disease progression (even before diagnosis). It also highlights the importance of maintaining good brain health through a cognitively active lifestyle, which is not only beneficial for patients with neurodegenerative diseases but also for the general population.
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a biomedical research center created in 2004. It is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centers accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the “HR Excellence in Research” program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).