Screening
There is no effective disease-modifying therapy for Huntington's disease, so routine screening of the asymptomatic population is not performed. On a case-by-case basis, individuals at risk for Huntington's disease can seek predictive genetic testing while they are asymptomatic. Such individuals are referred to interdisciplinary clinics with specialist expertise in genetic counselling and adherence to published guidelines. The inappropriate predictive genetic testing of asymptomatic individuals at risk for Huntington's disease may lead to severe emotional reactions or suicide, a risk that should encourage use of referral centres for this purpose.[34][60] Predictive testing for those under the age of 18 years is not recommended; individuals requesting predictive testing should have access to genetic counselling.[34][35][36] In the absence of available effective disease-modifying treatment, many at-risk individuals forgo predictive genetic testing.
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