Compensation in Preclinical Huntington's Disease: Evidence From the Track-On HD Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cognitive and motor task performance in premanifest Huntington's disease (HD) gene-carriers is often within normal ranges prior to clinical diagnosis, despite loss of brain volume in regions involved in these tasks. This indicates ongoing compensation, with the brain maintaining function in the presence of neuronal loss. However, thus far, compensatory processes in HD have not been modeled explicitly. Using a new model, which incorporates individual variability related to structural change and behavior, we sought to identify functional correlates of compensation in premanifest-HD gene-carriers.

Methods

We investigated the modulatory effects of regional brain atrophy, indexed by structural measures of disease load, on the relationship between performance and brain

SUBMITTER: Kloppel S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4634199 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature