Huntington Disease Program

Boston University Medical Center Department of Neurology offers individualized clinical services for patients and families affected by Huntington's disease (HD) in all stages of disease.  Patients are seen by a neurologist who specializes in HD as well as the movement disorder fellow, nurse practitioner and social worker.  Nutrition, physical therapy, occupational therapy and genetic counseling resources are available upon referral.   

Staff of the Huntington's Disease Program work in collaboration with Coyne Healthcare Center, an inpatient skilled nursing facility, to provide optimal care for those with HD unable to live at home.  This collaboration includes visits to Coyne Healthcare Center for consultation.

Patients also have the opportunity to participate in research, to both advance the understanding of HD through observational trials and help test new potential therapies with new medications.  Boston University is a research site of the Huntington Study Group.  Currently, studies are ongoing for people who are at risk for developing HD as well as observational and investigational drug trials for patients with HD. 

Dr Samuel Frank is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Boston University, specializing in the treatment of movement disorders, including HD. He is the inpatient neurology consultant for the Specialized Huntington's Disease Unit at Tewksbury State Hospital and has active HD clinics at Boston University and the regional veterans administration hospital. He is also the HD neurology consultant for Coyne Health Center, a long-term care center with dedicated facilities for HD. As a site for the Huntington Study Group, he and his staff enroll subjects for multiple ongoing studies, including PHAROS, COHORT, 2CARE and the recently completed TREND-HD. He played a key role in the recent studies used to obtain FDA approval for tetrabenazine use for chorea. Dr. Frank is also an active member of the New England HDSA Family services committee and the National HDSA Education Committee.

Staff

• Samuel Frank, MD
• Marie Saint-Hilaire, MD
• Anna Hohler, MD,
• Melissa Diggin, GNP

For additional information or to schedule an appointment please contact Melissa Diggin, GNP at (617) 638-7704.