Irritability in Huntington’s Disease

Abstract Huntington’s disease (HD) is a heritable and fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by a triad of motor, cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms. A common and particularly detrimental neuropsychiatric alteration in HD gene carriers is irritability, which frequently manifests as abrupt and unpredictable outbursts of anger. This symptom increases the burden of HD in multiple ways, such as jeopardizing employment and straining familial or caregiver support. Although irritability in HD is diagnosed by the administration of standardized rating scales and clinical expertise,