简介：BACKGROUND:Itisdifficulttoattractinterestinnon-compulsory,preventive,medicalcare,andpersonsdiagnosedwithcertaindiseasesoftenignoretheexistenceofthesediseases.However,Huntington'sdisease(HD)isanexception.OBJECTIVE:ToqualitativelyanalyzefactorsmotivatingHDpatientstoparticipateinastudy,namelytheEuropeanHuntington'sDiseaseNetwork(EHDN)REGISTRY.DESIGN,TIMEANDSETTING:AnobservationalsurveywasconductedintheEHDNStudySiteinPoznan,Polandbetween2007and2008.PARTICIPANTS:Thestudyinvolved22personsaffectedwithHDand3pre-symptomaticindividuals,totaling9malesand16females.The24participantsinthisstudyhad24differentcaregivers.Atotalof25symptomaticorpre-symptomaticsubjectsparticipatedintheinitialREGISTRYvisit,aswellas6inthesecond,and1inthethird.Allsubjectsdidnotknoweachotherpriortothevisit.METHODS:AmutationintheIT15genewasconfirmedineachpatientorpre-symptomaticmutationcarrier.Anin-depthinterviewproduceddetailedinformationontheHDpatients,aswellasthecaregivers,fortheREGISTRYstudy.MAINOUTCOMEMEASURES:AqualitativeanalysisofthefactorsmotivatingHDpatientsandthepre-symptomaticmutationcarrierstoparticipateintheREGISTRYlongitudinal,observational,researchprojectwasperformed.RESULTS:TheprimarymotivatingfactorforinvolvementofHDpatientsandthecaregiversintheREGISTRYstudywasthehopethataneffectiveHDtherapywouldsoonbediscovered.InHDpatientsandthepre-symptomaticgroup,theresponsetoparticipateintheREGISTRYprojectreached100%,despitethefactthattheyknewtheprojectwasonlyanobservationalstudy.CONCLUSION:Patienthopeisthoughttobeafactorforengaginginpreventive,therapeuticactivities.However,thisisrarelymentionedinmedicalpapersandclinicaltextbooks,andisusuallyoverlookedinmedicalteaching.Clearly,effortsshouldbemadetoincludethisinclinicalpractice.