Sexual dysfunction in Huntington’s Disease — a systematic review

Abstract

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.

Systemic Symptoms in Huntington's Disease: A Comprehensive Review

“…6 Depression can also be caused or worsened by dopamine depleting agents used to treat HD chorea. 26 In addition, antidepressants, neuroleptics and benzodiazepine can also cause sexual dysfunction. 26 On the other hand, there is no significant correlation between the international index of erectile function score and the number of CAG repeats in men, 8,9 but a positive correlation between the number of triplets and sexual desire in women.…”

“…26 In addition, antidepressants, neuroleptics and benzodiazepine can also cause sexual dysfunction. 26 On the other hand, there is no significant correlation between the international index of erectile function score and the number of CAG repeats in men, 8,9 but a positive correlation between the number of triplets and sexual desire in women. 8,9 Data suggests that sexual dysfunction is correlated with decreased functional capacity measured using TFC and TMS, 8,9 rather than disease duration.…”

Sexual dysfunction in Huntington’s Disease: what do we really know?

“…They found that the majority of patients with HD had sexual disorders, particularly hypo/ hyperactive sexual disorder, erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction, lubrication problems, and orgasmic dysfunction. Their findings suggest that SD is more common in HD and correlates with QoL measures [6]. However, their review also illuminates several limitations of the current literature regarding SDHD.…”

“…Szymuś et al conducted a systematic review of HD-associated sexual dysfunction [6]. They found that the majority of patients with HD had sexual disorders, particularly hypo/ hyperactive sexual disorder, erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction, lubrication problems, and orgasmic dysfunction.…”

“…Szymuś et al found only nine studies conducted over a 25-year timespan. These included information on sexual function of at least 20 genetically confirmed HD patients [6]. These studies were conducted an average of 11 years ago, and one third were conducted more than 18 years ago.…”