Huntington’s

  • Antiviral protein implicated in Huntington’s disease progression

    Antiviral protein implicated in Huntington’s disease progression

    APOBEC enzymes, which normally help fight viral infections by mutating viral DNA, are unusually active in the brains of Huntington’s patients, a new study has shown.   People genetically susceptible to Huntington’s disease often see their movement, mood, and cognition decline slowly over time. The cause is related to expansion of repeating DNA units, in [...]

  • Preventative clinical trials for Huntington’s could be reality within five years, researchers say

    Preventative clinical trials for Huntington’s could be reality within five years, researchers say

    Subtle changes in the brain, detectable through advanced imaging, blood and spinal fluid analysis, happen approximately twenty years before a clinical motor diagnosis in people with Huntington’s disease, new research has found. The researchers found that although functions such as movement, thinking or behaviour remained normal for a long time before the onset of symptoms [...]

  • Huntington’s disease gene also enhances early brain development and intelligence

    Huntington’s disease gene also enhances early brain development and intelligence

    The genetic mutation that causes Huntington’s disease (HD) – a devastating brain disease that disrupts mobility and diminishes cognitive ability – may also enhance early brain development and play a role in promoting human intelligence. This revelation comes from more than 10 years of brain imaging and brain function data, including motor, cognitive, and behavioural [...]

  • Rapid screen developed for new molecules that suppress disease-causing amyloids

    Rapid screen developed for new molecules that suppress disease-causing amyloids

    An efficient and robust system using the C. elegans nematode to screen for compounds that can stop the growth of amyloid proteins has been developed by a team of University of Toronto researchers. Through their own screen of over 2,500 compounds, the team found 40 that demonstrate the ability to inhibit amyloid formation. Amyloid proteins [...]

  • New Huntington’s disease discovery could pave the way for treatments

    New Huntington’s disease discovery could pave the way for treatments

    Researchers have identified a key biochemical mechanism relevant to the development of Huntington’s Disease that opens the possibility of studying the disease before its clinical onset and eventually stopping its progression. The study has shown for the first time the biochemical change responsible for the development of Huntington’s disease, and how blocking this change stopped [...]

  • Firm targeting Huntington’s drug secures £35m funds

    Firm targeting Huntington’s drug secures £35m funds

    A biotech firm which is aiming to slow down the neurodegeneration process in Huntington's has completed a £35m funding round to support is drug development work. LoQus23 Therapeutics is investigating small molecule drugs that could stop DNA instability and slow disease progression in Huntington's Disease, as well as myotonic dystrophy type 1 and similar triplet [...]