Sexual dysfunction in Huntington's Disease - a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION

Huntington's Disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder of which the main symptoms are motor, cognitive and behavioural problems sometimes including sexual dysfunction.

AIM: To review the current knowledge on sexual dysfunction in HD.

METHODS

Databases of Pubmed and Scopus were searched. Only original studies performed after 1994 were included (from 1994 a genetic test = proven diagnosis).

RESULTS

162 publications were found, but only nine met our established criteria. The majority of patients with HD suffer from sexual disorders. The most common are: hypoactive sexual disorder (53-83% of patients), hyperactive sexual disorder (6-30%), erectile (48-74%) and ejaculatory dysfunctions (30-65%), lubrication problems (53-83%), and orgasmic dysfunction (35-78%).

DISCUSSION: Results may be biased for several reasons e.g.: social taboos regarding sex lives, medications that affect sexual function, impaired self-awareness of patients, small study samples, a lack of standardised questionnaires, and a focus only on the presence of sexual problems without describing them.

CONCLUSIONS

Sexual disorders in HD are common. This is a problem that is probably underestimated, both by patients/caregivers and physicians, who should focus more on these symptoms in order to improve patient quality of life.