Exome sequencing of individuals with Huntington's disease implicates FAN1 nuclease activity in slowing CAG expansion and disease onset.

The age at onset of motor symptoms in Huntington's disease (HD) is driven by HTT CAG repeat length but modified by other genes. In this study, we used exome sequencing of 683 patients with HD with extremes of onset or phenotype relative to CAG length to identify rare variants associated with clinical effect. We discovered damaging coding variants in candidate modifier genes identified in previous genome-wide association studies associated with altered HD onset or severity. Variants in FAN1 clustered in its DNA-binding and nuclease domains and were associated predominantly with earlier-onset HD. Nuclease activities of purified variants in vitro correlated with residual age at motor onset of HD. Mutating endogenous FAN1 to a nuclease-inactive form in an induced pluripotent stem cell model of HD led to rates of CAG expansion similar to those observed with complete FAN1 knockout. Together, these data implicate FAN1 nuclease activity in slowing somatic repeat expansion and hence onset of HD.

Genetic Modification of Huntington Disease Acts Early in the Prediagnosis Phase.

Age at onset of Huntington disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder, is influenced by the size of the disease-causing CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion in HTT and by genetic modifier loci on chromosomes 8 and 15. Stratifying by modifier genotype, we have examined putamen volume, total motor score (TMS), and symbol digit modalities test (SDMT) scores, both at study entry and longitudinally, in normal controls and CAG-expansion carriers who were enrolled prior to the emergence of manifest HD in the PREDICT-HD study. The modifiers, which included onset-hastening and onset-delaying alleles on chromosome 15 and an onset-hastening allele on chromosome 8, revealed no major effect in controls but distinct patterns of modification in prediagnosis HD subjects. Putamen volume at study entry showed evidence of reciprocal modification by the chromosome 15 alleles, but the rate of loss of putamen volume was modified only by the deleterious chromosome 15 allele. By contrast, both alleles modified the rate of change of the SDMT score, but neither had an effect on the TMS. The influence of the chromosome 8 modifier was evident only in the rate of TMS increase. The data indicate that (1) modification of pathogenesis can occur early in the prediagnosis phase, (2) the modifier loci act in genetic interaction with the HD mutation rather than through independent additive effects, and (3) HD subclinical phenotypes are differentially influenced by each modifier, implying distinct effects in different cells or tissues. Together, these findings indicate the potential benefit of using genetic modifier strategies for dissecting the prediagnosis pathogenic process in HD.

Structural imaging in premanifest and manifest Huntington disease.

Huntington disease (HD) neuropathology has a devastating effect on brain structure and consequently brain function; neuroimaging provides a means to assess these effects in gene carriers. In this chapter we first outline the unique utility of structural imaging in understanding HD and discuss some of the acquisition and analysis techniques currently available. We review the existing literature to summarize what we know so far about structural brain changes across the spectrum of disease from premanifest through to manifest disease. We then consider how these neuroimaging findings relate to patient function and nonimaging biomarkers, and can be used to predict disease onset. Finally we review the utility of imaging measures for assessment of treatment efficacy in clinical trials.

Posterior Cingulate Lactate as a Metabolic Biomarker in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Mitochondrial dysfunction represents a central factor within the pathogenesis of the Alzheimer's disease (AD) spectrum. We hypothesized that in vivo measurements of lactate (lac), a by-product of glycolysis, would correlate with functional impairment and measures of brain health in a cohort of 15 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) individuals. Lac was quantified from the precuneus/posterior cingulate (PPC) using 2-dimensional J-resolved magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Additionally, standard behavioral and imaging markers of aMCI disease progression were acquired. PPC lac was negatively correlated with performance on the Wechsler logical memory tests and on the minimental state examination even after accounting for gray matter, cerebral spinal fluid volume, and age. No such relationships were observed between lac and performance on nonmemory tests. Significant negative relationships were also noted between PPC lac and hippocampal volume and PPC functional connectivity. Together, these results reveal that aMCI individuals with a greater disease progression have increased concentrations of PPC lac. Because lac is upregulated as a compensatory response to mitochondrial impairment, we propose that J-resolved MRS of lac is a noninvasive, surrogate biomarker of impaired metabolic function and would provide a useful means of tracking mitochondrial function during therapeutic trials targeting brain metabolism.

Prediction of manifest Huntington's disease with clinical and imaging measures: a prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Although the association between cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeat length and age at onset of Huntington's disease is well known, improved prediction of onset would be advantageous for clinical trial design and prognostic counselling. We compared various measures for tracking progression and predicting conversion to manifest Huntington's disease. METHODS: In this prospective observational study, we assessed the ability of 40 measures in five domains (motor, cognitive, psychiatric, functional, and imaging) to predict time to motor diagnosis of Huntington's disease, accounting for CAG repeat length, age, and the interaction of CAG repeat length and age. Eligible participants were individuals from the PREDICT-HD study (from 33 centres in six countries [USA, Canada, Germany, Australia, Spain, UK]) with the gene mutation for Huntington's disease but without a motor diagnosis (a rating below 4 on the diagnostic confidence level from the 15-item motor assessment of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale). Participants were followed up between September, 2002, and July, 2014. We used joint modelling of longitudinal and survival data to examine the extent to which baseline and change of measures analysed separately was predictive of CAG-adjusted age at motor diagnosis. FINDINGS: 1078 individuals with a CAG expansion were included in this analysis. Participants were followed up for a mean of 5·1 years (SD 3·3, range 0·0-12·0). 225 (21%) of these participants received a motor diagnosis of Huntington's disease during the study. 37 of 40 cross-sectional and longitudinal clinical and imaging measures were significant predictors of motor diagnosis beyond CAG repeat length and age. The strongest predictors were in the motor, imaging, and cognitive domains: an increase of one SD in total motor score (motor domain) increased the risk of a motor diagnosis by 3·07 times (95% CI 2·26-4·16), a reduction of one SD in putamen volume (imaging domain) increased risk by 3·32 times (2·37-4·65), and a reduction of one SD in Stroop word score (cognitive domain) increased risk by 2·32 times (1·88-2·87). INTERPRETATION: Prediction of diagnosis of Huntington's disease can be improved beyond that obtained by CAG repeat length and age alone. Such knowledge about potential predictors of manifest Huntington's disease should inform discussions about guidelines for diagnosis, prognosis, and counselling, and might be useful in guiding the selection of participants and outcome measures for clinical trials. FUNDING: US National Institutes of Health, US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and CHDI Foundation.

Magnetic resonance imaging striatal volumes: a biomarker for clinical trials in Huntington's disease.

An abundance of research shows that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) striatal volumes decrease long before diagnosis of Huntington's disease (HD) and closely track disease progression. Additional research indicates that these volumetric measures meet important criteria for a biomarker that can be used in clinical trials: They are 1) objectively measureable; 2) able to predict known endpoints; and 3) associated with known mechanisms of pathology of the disease. Researchers should consider formal application to regulatory agencies for biomarker status of volumetric MRI striatal measures, because these measures are anticipated to contribute significantly in the assessment of treatment effectiveness in HD.

Clinical and Biomarker Changes in Premanifest Huntington Disease Show Trial Feasibility: A Decade of the PREDICT-HD Study.

There is growing consensus that intervention and treatment of Huntington disease (HD) should occur at the earliest stage possible. Various early-intervention methods for this fatal neurodegenerative disease have been identified, but preventive clinical trials for HD are limited by a lack of knowledge of the natural history of the disease and a dearth of appropriate outcome measures. Objectives of the current study are to document the natural history of premanifest HD progression in the largest cohort ever studied and to develop a battery of imaging and clinical markers of premanifest HD progression that can be used as outcome measures in preventive clinical trials. Neurobiological predictors of Huntington's disease is a 32-site, international, observational study of premanifest HD, with annual examination of 1013 participants with premanifest HD and 301 gene-expansion negative controls between 2001 and 2012. Findings document 39 variables representing imaging, motor, cognitive, functional, and psychiatric domains, showing different rates of decline between premanifest HD and controls. Required sample size and models of premanifest HD are presented to inform future design of clinical and preclinical research. Preventive clinical trials in premanifest HD with participants who have a medium or high probability of motor onset are calculated to be as resource-effective as those conducted in diagnosed HD and could interrupt disease 7-12 years earlier. Methods and measures for preventive clinical trials in premanifest HD more than a dozen years from motor onset are also feasible. These findings represent the most thorough documentation of a clinical battery for experimental therapeutics in stages of premanifest HD, the time period for which effective intervention may provide the most positive possible outcome for patients and their families affected by this devastating disease.

Neuroanatomical correlates of cognitive functioning in prodromal Huntington disease.

INTRODUCTION: The brain mechanisms of cognitive impairment in prodromal Huntington disease (prHD) are not well understood. Although striatal atrophy correlates with some cognitive abilities, few studies of prHD have investigated whether cortical gray matter morphometry correlates in a regionally specific manner with functioning in different cognitive domains. This knowledge would inform the selection of cognitive measures for clinical trials that would be most sensitive to the target of a treatment intervention. METHOD: In this study, random forest analysis was used to identify neuroanatomical correlates of functioning in five cognitive domains including attention and information processing speed, working memory, verbal learning and memory, negative emotion recognition, and temporal processing. Participants included 325 prHD individuals with varying levels of disease progression and 119 gene-negative controls with a family history of HD. In intermediate analyses, we identified brain regions that showed significant differences between the prHD and the control groups in cortical thickness and striatal volume. Brain morphometry in these regions was then correlated with cognitive functioning in each of the domains in the prHD group using random forest methods. We hypothesized that different regional patterns of brain morphometry would be associated with performances in distinct cognitive domains. RESULTS: The results showed that performances in different cognitive domains that are vulnerable to decline in prHD were correlated with regionally specific patterns of cortical and striatal morphometry. Putamen and/or caudate volumes were top-ranked correlates of performance across all cognitive domains, as was cortical thickness in regions related to the processing demands of each domain. CONCLUSIONS: The results underscore the importance of identifying structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) markers of functioning in different cognitive domains, as their relative sensitivity depends on the extent to which processing is called upon by different brain networks. The findings have implications for identifying neuroimaging and cognitive outcome measures for use in clinical trials.

Huntington disease: natural history, biomarkers and prospects for therapeutics.

Huntington disease (HD) can be seen as a model neurodegenerative disorder, in that it is caused by a single genetic mutation and is amenable to predictive genetic testing, with estimation of years to predicted onset, enabling the entire range of disease natural history to be studied. Structural neuroimaging biomarkers show that progressive regional brain atrophy begins many years before the emergence of diagnosable signs and symptoms of HD, and continues steadily during the symptomatic or 'manifest' period. The continued development of functional, neurochemical and other biomarkers raises hopes that these biomarkers might be useful for future trials of disease-modifying therapeutics to delay the onset and slow the progression of HD. Such advances could herald a new era of personalized preventive therapeutics. We describe the natural history of HD, including the timing of emergence of motor, cognitive and emotional impairments, and the techniques that are used to assess these features. Building on this information, we review recent progress in the development of biomarkers for HD, and potential future roles of these biomarkers in clinical trials.

Neurochemical correlates of caudate atrophy in Huntington's disease.

The precise pathogenic mechanisms of Huntington's disease (HD) are unknown but can be tested in vivo using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) to measure neurochemical changes. The objective of this study was to evaluate neurochemical differences in HD gene mutation carriers (HGMCs) versus controls and to investigate relationships among function, brain structure, and neurochemistry in HD. Because previous (1)H MRS studies have yielded varied conclusions about HD neurochemical changes, an additional goal was to compare two (1)H MRS data analysis approaches. HGMCs with premanifest to early HD and controls underwent evaluation of motor function, magnetic resonance imaging, and localized (1)H MRS in the caudate and the frontal lobe. Analytical approaches that were tested included absolute quantitation (unsuppressed water signal as an internal reference) and relative quantification (calculating ratios of all neurochemical signals within a voxel). We identified a suite of neurochemicals that were reduced in concentration proportionally to loss of caudate volume in HGMCs. Caudate concentrations of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine, choline, and caudate and frontal lobe concentrations of glutamate plus glutamine (Glx) and glutamate were correlated with caudate volume in HGMCs. The relative, but not the absolute, quantitation approach revealed disease-related differences; the Glx signal was decreased relative to other neurochemicals in the caudate of HGMCs versus controls. This is the first study to demonstrate a correlation among structure, function, and chemical measures in HD brain. Additionally, we demonstrate that a relative quantitation approach may enable the magnification of subtle differences between groups. Observation of decreased Glx suggests that glutamate signaling may be disrupted relatively early in HD, which has important implications for therapeutic approaches.

The association between higher order abilities, processing speed, and age are variably mediated by white matter integrity during typical aging.

Although aging is associated with changes in brain structure and cognition it remains unclear which specific structural changes mediate individual cognitive changes. Several studies have reported that white matter (WM) integrity, as assessed by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), mediates, in part, age-related differences in processing speed (PS). There is less evidence for WM integrity mediating age-related differences in higher order abilities (e.g., memory and executive functions). In 165 typically aging adults (age range 54-89) we show that WM integrity in select cerebral regions is associated with higher cognitive abilities and accounts variance not accounted for by PS or age. Specifically, voxel-wise analyses using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) revealed that WM integrity was associated with reasoning, cognitive flexibility and PS, but not memory or word fluency, after accounting for age and gender. While cerebral fractional anisotropy (FA) was only associated with PS; mean (MD), axial (AD) and radial (RD) diffusivity were associated with reasoning and flexibility. Reasoning was selectively associated with left prefrontal AD, while cognitive flexibility was associated with MD, AD and RD throughout the cerebrum. Average WM metrics within select WM regions of interest accounted for 18% and 29% of the variance in reasoning and flexibility, respectively, similar to the amount of variance accounted for by age. WM metrics mediated ~50% of the age-related variance in reasoning and flexibility and different proportions, 11% for reasoning and 44% for flexibility, of the variance accounted for by PS. In sum, (i) WM integrity is significantly, but variably, related to specific higher cognitive abilities and can account for a similar proportion of variance as age, and (ii) while FA is selectively associated with PS; while MD, AD and RD are associated with reasoning, flexibility and PS. This illustrates both the anatomical and cognitive selectivity of structure-cognition relationships in the aging brain.

Regional atrophy associated with cognitive and motor function in prodromal Huntington disease.

BACKGROUND: Neuroimaging studies suggest that volumetric MRI measures of specific brain structures may serve as excellent biomarkers in future clinical trials of Huntington disease (HD). OBJECTIVE: Demonstration of the clinical significance of these measures is an important step in determining their appropriateness as potential outcome measures. METHODS: Measures of gray- and white-matter lobular volumes and subcortical volumes (caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, thalamus, nucleus accumbens, hippocampus) were obtained from MRI scans of 516 individuals who tested positive for the HD gene expansion, but were not yet exhibiting signs or symptoms severe enough to warrant diagnosis ("pre-HD"). MRI volumes (corrected for intracranial volume) were correlated with cognitive, motor, psychiatric, and functional measures known to be sensitive to subtle changes in pre-HD. RESULTS: Caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus volumes consistently correlated with cognitive and motor, but not psychiatric or functional measures in pre-HD. Volumes of white matter, nucleus accumbens, and thalamus, but not cortical gray matter, also correlated with some of the motor and cognitive measures. CONCLUSIONS: Results of regression analyses suggest that volumes of basal ganglia structures contributed more highly to the prediction of most motor and cognitive variables than volumes of other brain regions. These results support the use of volumetric measures, especially of the basal ganglia, as outcome measures in future clinical trials in pre-HD. Results may also assist investigators in selecting the most appropriate measures for treatment trials that target specific clinical features or regions of neuropathology.

Brain volume and shape in infants with deformational plagiocephaly.

PURPOSE: Infants with deformational plagiocephaly (DP) have been shown to exhibit developmental delays relative to unaffected infants. Although the mechanisms accounting for these delays are unknown, one hypothesis focuses on underlying differences in brain development. In this study, we used MRI to examine brain volume and shape in infants with and without DP. METHODS: Participants included 20 infants with DP (mean age = 7.9 months, SD = 1.2; n = 12 male) and 21 controls (mean age = 7.9 months, SD = 1.3; n = 11 male). Measures included volumes of the total brain and cerebellum; midsagittal areas of the corpus callosum and cerebellar vermis; and linear distance measures used to quantify the shape of selected brain structures. We also evaluated the association between shape measures and developmental scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III (BSID-III). RESULTS: Brain volume did not distinguish cases and controls (p = .214-.976). However, cases exhibited greater asymmetry and flattening of the posterior brain (p < .001-.002) and cerebellar vermis (p = .035), shortening of the corpus callosum (p = .012), and differences in the orientation of the corpus callosum (p = .005). Asymmetry and flattening of brain structures were associated with worse developmental outcomes on the BSID-III. CONCLUSIONS: Infants with DP show differences in brain shape, consistent with the skull deformity characteristic of this condition, and shape measures were associated with infant development. Longitudinal studies, beginning in the neonatal period, are needed to clarify whether developmental effects precede or follow brain deformation.

Midlife memory improvement predicts preservation of hippocampal volume in old age.

This study examines whether midlife change in episodic memory predicts hippocampal volume in old age. From the Seattle Longitudinal Study we retrospectively identified 84 healthy, cognitively normal individuals, age 52 to 87, whose episodic memory had reliably declined (n = 33), improved (n = 28) or remained stable (n = 23) over a 14-year period in midlife (age 43-63). Midlife memory improvement was associated with 13% larger hippocampal volume (p < 0.01) in old age (age 66-87), compared with old age individuals whose midlife episodic memory had either declined or remained stable during midlife. Midlife memory change did not predict total hippocampal volume for those currently in late middle age (age 52-65). The pattern of findings was not modified by gender, apolipoprotein ε4 status, education or current memory performance. Change in midlife memory scores over 14 years, but not any single assessment, predicted hippocampal volumes in old age, emphasizing the importance of longitudinal data in examining brain-cognition relationships. These findings suggest that improvement in memory in midlife is associated with sparing of hippocampal volume in later life.

Striatal volume contributes to the prediction of onset of Huntington disease in incident cases.

BACKGROUND: Previous neuroimaging research indicates that brain atrophy in Huntington disease (HD) begins many years before movement abnormalities become severe enough to warrant diagnosis. Most clinical trials being planned for individuals in the prediagnostic stage of HD propose to use delay of disease onset as the primary outcome measure. Although formulas have been developed based on age and CAG repeat length, to predict when HD motor onset will occur, it would be useful to have additional measures that can improve the accuracy of prediction of disease onset. METHODS: The current study examined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of striatum and white matter volume in 85 individuals prospectively followed from pre-HD stage through diagnosable motor onset (incident cases) and 85 individuals individually matched with incident cases on CAG repeat length, sex, and age, who were not diagnosed with HD during the course of the study. RESULTS: Volumes of striatum and white matter were significantly smaller in individuals who would be diagnosed 1 to 4 years following the initial MRI scan, compared with those who would remain in the pre-HD stage. Putamen volume was the measure that best distinguished between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that MRI volumetric measures may be helpful in selecting individuals for future clinical trials in pre-HD where HD motor onset is the primary outcome measure. In planning for multisite clinical trials in pre-HD, investigators may also want to consider using more objective measures, such as MRI volumes, in addition to onset of diagnosable movement disorder, as major outcome measures.

Estimating premorbid IQ in the prodromal phase of a neurodegenerative disease.

Estimates of premorbid intellect are often used in neuropsychological assessment to make inferences about cognitive decline. To optimize the method of controlling for premorbid intellect in assessments of prodromal neurodegenerative disease, we examined performance on the American National Adult Reading Test (ANART; administered during Years 1 and 3) and the two-subtest version of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI; administered in Years 2 and 4) in an ongoing prospective longitudinal study of 371 participants with prodromal Huntington disease and 51 participants with normal CAG repeats. Although both measures performed similarly, the ANART demonstrated slightly lower variability in performance over a 2-year period and had slightly higher test-retest reliability than the WASI.

Neurocognitive signs in prodromal Huntington disease.

OBJECTIVE: PREDICT-HD is a large-scale international study of people with the Huntington disease (HD) CAG-repeat expansion who are not yet diagnosed with HD. The objective of this study was to determine the stage in the HD prodrome at which cognitive differences from CAG-normal controls can be reliably detected. METHOD: For each of 738 HD CAG-expanded participants, we computed estimated years to clinical diagnosis and probability of diagnosis in 5 years based on age and CAG-repeat expansion number (Langbehn, Brinkman, Falush, Paulsen, & Hayden, 2004). We then stratified the sample into groups: NEAR, estimated to be ≤9 years; MID, between 9 and 15 years; and FAR, ≥15 years. The control sample included 168 CAG-normal participants. Nineteen cognitive tasks were used to assess attention, working memory, psychomotor functions, episodic memory, language, recognition of facial emotion, sensory-perceptual functions, and executive functions. RESULTS: Compared with the controls, the NEAR group showed significantly poorer performance on nearly all of the cognitive tests and the MID group on about half of the cognitive tests (p = .05, Cohen's d NEAR as large as -1.17, MID as large as -0.61). One test even revealed significantly poorer performance in the FAR group (Cohen's d = -0.26). Individual tasks accounted for 0.2% to 9.7% of the variance in estimated proximity to diagnosis. Overall, the cognitive battery accounted for 34% of the variance; in comparison, the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale motor score accounted for 11.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Neurocognitive tests are robust clinical indicators of the disease process prior to reaching criteria for motor diagnosis of HD.

Longitudinal change in regional brain volumes in prodromal Huntington disease.

OBJECTIVE: As therapeutics are being developed to target the underlying neuropathology of Huntington disease, interest is increasing in methodologies for conducting clinical trials in the prodromal phase. This study was designed to examine the potential utility of structural MRI measures as outcome measures for such trials. METHODS: Data are presented from 211 prodromal individuals and 60 controls, scanned both at baseline and at the 2-year follow-up. Prodromal participants were divided into groups based on proximity to estimated onset of diagnosable clinical disease: far (>15 years from estimated onset), mid (9-15 years) and near (<9 years). Volumetric measurements of caudate, putamen, total striatum, globus pallidus, thalamus, total grey and white matter and cerebrospinal fluid were performed. RESULTS: All prodromal groups showed a faster rate of atrophy than controls in striatum, total brain and cerebral white matter (especially in the frontal lobe). Neither prodromal participants nor controls showed any significant longitudinal change in cortex (either total cortical grey or within individual lobes). When normal age-related atrophy (ie, change observed in the control group) was taken into account, there was more statistically significant disease-related atrophy in white matter than in striatum. CONCLUSION: Measures of volume change in striatum and white-matter volume, particularly in the frontal lobe, may serve as excellent outcome measures for future clinical trials in prodromal Huntington disease. Clinical trials using white matter or striatal volume change as an outcome measure will be most efficient if the sample is restricted to individuals who are within 15 years of estimated onset of diagnosable disease.

Smaller intracranial volume in prodromal Huntington's disease: evidence for abnormal neurodevelopment.

Huntington's disease is an autosomal dominant brain disease. Although conceptualized as a neurodegenerative disease of the striatum, a growing number of studies challenge this classic concept of Huntington's disease aetiology. Intracranial volume is the tissue and fluid within the calvarium and is a representation of the maximal brain growth obtained during development. The current study reports intracranial volume obtained from an magnetic resonance imaging brain scan in a sample of subjects (n = 707) who have undergone presymptomatic gene testing. Participants who are gene-expanded but not yet manifesting the disease (prodromal Huntington's disease) are compared with subjects who are non-gene expanded. The prodromal males had significantly smaller intracranial volume measures with a mean volume that was 4% lower compared with controls. Although the prodromal females had smaller intracranial volume measures compared with their controls, this was not significant. The current findings suggest that mutant huntingtin can cause abnormal development, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease.

Cerebral cortex structure in prodromal Huntington disease.

Neuroimaging studies of subjects who are gene-expanded for Huntington Disease, but not yet diagnosed (termed prodromal HD), report that the cortex is "spared," despite the decrement in striatal and cerebral white-matter volume. Measurement of whole-cortex volume can mask more subtle, but potentially clinically relevant regional changes in volume, thinning, or surface area. The current study addressed this limitation by evaluating cortical morphology of 523 prodromal HD subjects. Participants included 693 individuals enrolled in the PREDICT-HD protocol. Of these participants, 523 carried the HD gene mutation (prodromal HD group); the remaining 170 were non gene-expanded and served as the comparison group. Based on age and CAG repeat length, gene-expanded subjects were categorized as "Far from onset," "Midway to onset," "Near onset," and "already diagnosed." MRI scans were processed using FreeSurfer. Cortical volume, thickness, and surface area were not significantly different between the Far from onset group and controls. However, beginning in the Midway to onset group, the cortex showed significant volume decrement, affecting most the posterior and superior cerebral regions. This pattern progressed when evaluating the groups further into the disease process. Areas that remained mostly unaffected included ventral and medial regions of the frontal and temporal cortex. Morphologic changes were mostly in thinning as surface area did not substantially change in most regions. Early in the course of HD, the cortex shows changes that are manifest as cortical thinning and are most robust in the posterior and superior regions of the cerebrum.