An Australian Neuro-Palliative perspective on Huntington's disease: a case report

Abstract

Background: Huntington’s Disease (HD) is an incurable, progressive neuro-degenerative disease. For patients with HD access to palliative care services is limited, with dedicated Neuro-Palliative Care Services rare in Australia. We discuss the experiences of and benefits to a patient with late-stage HD admitted to our Neuro-Palliative Care service. Case presentation: We present the case of a patient with a 16-year history of HD from time of initial genetic testing to admission to our Neuro-Palliative Care service with late-stage disease. Conclusions: Given the prolonged, fluctuating and heterogenous HD trajectory, measures need to be implemented to improve earlier access to multi-specialty integrative palliative care services. Given the good outcomes of our case, we strongly advocate for the role of specialised Neuro-Palliative Care services to bridge the gap between clinical need and accessibility.