Psychosis with Huntington's disease: role of antipsychotic medications

This is a case of a 60-year-old man who presented with a 6-month history of increasing agitation and emotional volatility. His family brought him to the emergency room as they were concerned about his threatening and aggressive behaviour. The patient was initially incoherent and uncooperative. During the interview, the patient's family revealed that he had a previous diagnosis of Huntington's disease; there was also a family history of personality changes preceding Huntington's chorea. The patient was admitted to the psychiatric inpatient unit and started on low-dose risperidone. Consequently, there was marked improvement in his symptoms. Subsequent cognitive tests revealed deficits in multiple domains. After a month, the patient was discharged to a community home in stable state.