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New insights into identifying children at risk for autoimmune brain disorders

A new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health's Center for Infection and Immunity indicates that pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette syndrome and/or tic disorder may develop from an inappropriate immune response to the bacteria causing common throat infections.

11 Aug 2009

Biovail acquires worldwide rights to Tetrabenazine

Biovail Corporation today announced a wholly owned subsidiary has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire worldwide development and commercialization rights to the entire portfolio of tetrabenazine products, including Xenazine/Nitoman (tetrabenazine tablets), and the associated intellectual property rights held by Cambridge Laboratories (Ireland) Ltd and its affiliates.

18 May 2009

First drug for Huntington's disease approved for use in the U.S.

Huntington's disease is a fatal, inherited neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no cure and usually affects people in their 30s and 40s, but some patients are affected as early as childhood, while others aren't affected until they are older.

18 Aug 2008

FDA approves tetrabenazine for Huntington's disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved tetrabenazine, the first drug approved for use in the United States to treat Huntington's disease, a fatal, inherited neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no cure. The action comes about eight months after an advisory panel unanimously voted to advise FDA to make the medication available to treat the disease.

17 Aug 2008

Schizophrenia improved by mental and physical exercise

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have shown that mental and physical exercise can improve behavioural deficits in schizophrenia and repair damaged chemical transmitter pathways in the brain.

1 Aug 2007

Tetrabenazine protects brain cells in Huntington's disease model

A drug used in some countries to treat the symptoms of Huntington's disease prevents death of brain cells in mice genetically engineered to mimic the hereditary condition, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

25 Jul 2007

Synaptic dysfunction in Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease is a hereditary disorder that primarily affects the brain, leading to death within just over a decade.

17 Jun 2007

Bioluminescence part of new imaging technique

CNRS scientists in collaboration have developed a new technique for the in vivo imaging of neuronal function using bioluminescence, based on a GFP-aequorin fusion protein.

18 Apr 2007

New treatment possibilities for Huntington's disease

Howard Florey Institute have opened up new treatment possibilities for Huntington's disease by proving a scientific theory incorrect.

3 Apr 2007

Researchers discover protein interaction that may explain how Huntington's disease affects the brain

The findings, published in and featured on the cover of the current issue of Human Molecular Genetics, show how the mutated Huntington's protein interacts with another protein to cause dramatic accumulation of cholesterol in the brain.

2 Dec 2006

Protection for nerve cells - eating up defective proteins

Nerve cells in the Central Nervous System can defend against and recover from damage by proteinlike clusters which are associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's Chorea.

13 Sep 2006

Green tea slows down plaque formation in Huntington's disease

Green tea can apparently inhibit the formation of the lethal protein aggregates that are a characteristic feature of Huntington's disease (HD).

13 Sep 2006

Molecular chaperones protect cells

Falsely folded proteins and their aggregations in neurons are considered to be the cause of neurodegenerative diseases, among them Chorea Huntington.

13 Sep 2006

Skin test may help detect early Alzheimer's

A simple skin test that would allow detection of Alzheimer's disease appears to be a realistic possibility in the future.

16 Aug 2006

Tetrabenazine cuts down involuntary movements in Huntington's disease

The medication tetrabenazine cut down involuntary movement in patients with Huntington's disease on average by about 25 percent, with many patients experiencing a greater improvement, according to a study in the February 14 issue of the journal Neurology.

17 Feb 2006

Clioquinol appears to block the genetic action of Huntington's disease

Clioquinol, an antibiotic that was banned for internal use in the United States in 1971 but is still used in topical applications, appears to block the genetic action of Huntington's disease in mice and in cell culture, according to a study reported by San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) researchers.

12 Sep 2005

Origins of racial health disparities can involve both genes and environment and the interactions between them

New understanding of the dynamic interplay between genes and environment, made possible by technologies arising from the Human Genome Project, helps support the individualization of medicine and makes focusing on racial or ethnic group differences in disease less relevant, say Penn State researchers.

17 Jan 2005

Effects of Huntington's disease mutation more complex than originally thought

Competing theories about why brain cells die in Huntington's disease may not be competitors after all, according to a report published July 21, 2004, in the online edition of the Annals of Neurology.

22 Jul 2004