This year has seen a wave of promising developments in tackling some of the toughest neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and multiple sclerosis (MS).
For generations, many considered these conditions to be impossible to cure or even slow down.
Most available treatments could only ease symptoms without addressing the underlying damage to the brain.
But 2025 could mark a turning point.
Recent research from the UK and around the world suggests that we may finally be able to slow these diseases down, fix some of the harm they cause and tackle their fundamental causes rather than just masking their symptoms.
Huntington’s disease: Gene treatment reduces progression by 75 per cent
In perhaps the biggest story of the year, a recent limited study of an experimental gene treatment for Huntington’s disease (HD) slowed disease progression by 75 per cent over a three-year period.
The uncommon, hereditary disorder causes severe problems with movement, cognition and emotional control.
The research was extraordinary news for those living with HD and their families as previously, no treatment existed to halt or delay its progress.
The treatment was administered straight into the brain through a single surgical operation.
It functions by shutting down the defective gene responsible for the condition.
Though the study included only a handful of participants and further investigation is needed, it could prove to be truly game-changing for those living with the inherited gene.
Principal investigator Professor Ed Wild is from the University College London (UCL) Huntington’s Disease Centre.
He said: “This result changes everything.
“On the basis of these results, it seems likely AMT-130 will be the first licensed treatment to slow Huntington’s disease, which is truly world-changing stuff.
“My patients in the trial are stable over time in a way I’m not used to seeing in Huntington’s disease.”
Parkinson’s disease: Protein breakthrough could unlock new treatments
Researchers in the UK have created an innovative imaging method that enables hem to see microscopic brain clusters thought to cause Parkinson’s disease.
The breakthrough could improve our understanding of how the disease develops and may lead to the development of new treatments.
Parkinson’s is characterised by abnormal protein accumulations called Lewy bodies in the brain.
These alpha-synuclein oligomers have long been suspected as the initial triggers of Parkinson’s.
However, until now, they’ve been impossible to detect directly in human brain tissue.
The new technique enables scientists to visualise, quantify and analyse these tiny clusyers in human brain samples – an achievement one researcher compared to “being able to see stars in broad daylight.”
Professor Steven Lee of Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, said: “Lewy bodies are the hallmark of Parkinson’s, but they essentially tell you where the disease has been, not where it is right now.
“If we can observe Parkinson’s at its earliest stages, that would tell us a whole lot more about how the disease develops in the brain and how we might be able to treat it.”
Multiple sclerosis: Evidence of genuine brain restoration
Current MS treatments primarily aim to prevent the immune system from damaging the nervous system.
However, Cambridge researchers are now pursuing an even bolder goal: enabling the brain to heal itself.
In a recent study, a comination of two common medications, the diabetes treatment metformin and the antihistamine clemastine, seemed to help rebuild the protective layer surrounding nerve cells in MS patients.
This might herald an entirely different category of MS treatment – one that doesn’t merely slow the condition but actively helps the brain regain diminished capabilities.
Dr Nick Cunniffe is a clinical lecturer in Neurology at Cambridge and led the trial.
He said: “I am increasingly sure that remyelination is part of the solution to stopping progressive disability in MS.
“We still need to research the long-term benefits and side effects before people with MS consider taking these drugs.
“But my instinct is that we are on the brink of a new class of treatments to stop MS progression, and within the next decade we could see the first licensed treatment that repairs myelin and improves the lives of people living with MS.”
