Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Major Depressive Disorder in Huntington Disease Patient with Improvement in Neuropsychiatric and Movement Symptoms: A Case Report

Abstract

Introduction: Huntington disease (HD) is a progressive disorder characterized by significant neurodegeneration that results in severe neuropsychiatric symptoms and disordered movement. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive treatment that has been used in major depressive disorder (MDD) with great success. Case Presentation: We present a case of a patient with newly diagnosed HD, persistent MDD with suicidal ideation, and generalized anxiety disorder who was treated with rTMS and had sustained significant improvement of her mood disorder with additional improvement of her movement disorder. Conclusion: This result brings into question the use of rTMS to treat MDD and chorea in patients with HD, especially early in its course.

Keywords

• huntington disease
• repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
• chorea
• depression
• case report