Huntington’s Disease News and Research

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Study could lead to new therapeutic targets for treating Huntington's disease

An international study led by researchers from Université Laval and CHU de Québec-Université Laval has identified significant vascular changes in the brains of people with Huntington's disease. This breakthrough, the details of which are published in the most recent issue of Annals of Neurology, will have significant implications for our understanding of the disease and could open the door to new therapeutic targets for treating this fatal neurodegenerative condition.

17 Apr 2015

Plymouth researchers receive grant to develop effective therapy for Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease is an hereditary disorder of the nervous system caused by a faulty gene on chromosome four. The faulty gene leads to nerve damage in the area of the brain resulting in gradual physical, mental and emotional changes. Those born to a parent with Huntington's disease have a 50:50 chance of developing it, and there is currently no cure.

9 Apr 2015

Study: Broken communication in brain regions appears to worsen Huntington's disease

Indiana University researchers have found that broken communication in a specific part of the brain plays a role in the involuntary physical movements that affect individuals with Huntington's disease.

7 Apr 2015

Neurocrine Biosciences, Mitsubishi Tanabe to develop and commercialize NBI-98854 in select Asian markets

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement for the development and commercialization of its VMAT2 inhibitor, NBI-98854, in Japan and other select Asian markets with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation.

1 Apr 2015

Northwestern Medicine opens multidisciplinary treatment center for patients battling Huntington's disease

Northwestern Medicine recently launched a multidisciplinary center dedicated to the comprehensive treatment of patients battling Huntington's disease. The new center will focus on both patient care and research of the inherited disease that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain.

31 Mar 2015

Biological clue could help explain why some drinkers can't resist alcohol

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have discovered a biological clue that could help explain why some drinkers develop a dependence on alcohol and others do not.

25 Mar 2015

Broad Institute of MIT researcher honored for groundbreaking research using new gene editing tool

The newest gene editing tool - called CRISPR-Cas9 - is leading to new research possibilities in cell biology and neuroscience. This includes the ability to make transgenic animal models more quickly, which helps researchers better study diseases that affect thousands of people each year.

25 Mar 2015

Discovery can help stop emergence of age-related neurodegenerative diseases

As medicine has improved, increasing our ability to treat disease, so our longevity. The deterioration of the body with age, though, is a whole other matter.

23 Mar 2015

IUPUI professor receives grant to model human motor movements for Huntington's research

Yaroslav Molkov, assistant professor of mathematics in the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, in collaboration with researchers at Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, has received a grant to use computational modeling to map a motor control system to study Huntington's disease.

20 Mar 2015

TSRI researchers create picture of whole dynein-dynactin structure

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has determined the basic structural organization of a molecular motor that hauls cargoes and performs other critical functions within cells.

12 Mar 2015

Viagra can have anti-cancer, anti-Alzheimer's disease effects if used with new drugs

Chaperone proteins play an important role in protein folding in human cells and in bacteria and are promising new targets for drugs to treat cancer and Alzheimer's disease and for novel antiviral drugs and antibiotics. How existing drugs such as Viagra or Cialis and a derivative of the drug Celebrex, for example, can reduce the activity of a specific chaperone protein, with the potential for anti-tumor and anti-Alzheimer's disease effects, is described in a Review article in DNA and Cell Biology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

10 Mar 2015

Brain scientists map changes in communication between nerve cells in rats

Lights, sound, action: we are constantly learning how to incorporate outside sensations into our reactions in specific situations. In a new study, brain scientists have mapped changes in communication between nerve cells as rats learned to make specific decisions in response to particular sounds. The team then used this map to accurately predict the rats' reactions. These results add to our understanding of how the brain processes sensations and forms memories to inform behavior.

3 Mar 2015

New genetic discovery may lead to effective treatments for Huntington's disease

A new genetic discovery in the field of Huntington's disease (HD) could mean a more effective way in determining severity of this neurological disease when using specific treatments. This study may provide insight for treatments that would be effective in slowing down or postponing the death of neurons for people who carry the HD gene mutation, but who do not yet show symptoms of the disease.

2 Mar 2015

Huntington Hospital, OBHG launch new program to improve women's healthcare

Huntington Hospital of San Gabriel Valley, CA recently partnered with Ob Hospitalist Group (OBHG) to provide on-site, Board Certified OB/GYN obstetric hospitalist services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

13 Feb 2015

Loyola psychiatrist achieves Distinguished Life Fellow status in the American Psychiatric Association

Loyola University Medical Center psychiatrist Murali Rao, MD, has achieved Distinguished Life Fellow status in the American Psychiatric Association, the highest honor the profession can bestow.

4 Feb 2015

Loyola's Murali Rao achieves Distinguished Life Fellow status

Loyola University Medical Center psychiatrist Murali Rao, MD, has achieved Distinguished Life Fellow status in the American Psychiatric Association, the highest honor the profession can bestow.

4 Feb 2015

Bern researchers develop active substance for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a congenital disease which causes muscle degeneration and eventual death in teenagers. Recently, researchers from Bern developed an active substance, which they together with an international team tested successfully.

3 Feb 2015

Findings may lay foundation for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

This story starts in 1955, upon the death of Albert Einstein, when the pathologist charged with performing the famous scientist's autopsy stole his brain.

3 Feb 2015

Marie Csete appointed president and chief scientist of HMRI

Huntington Medical Research Institutes, a leading biomedical research organization, has announced the appointment of Marie Csete, MD, PhD, its chief scientific officer, to her new role as president and chief scientist of HMRI.

29 Jan 2015

Research findings may lead to new treatment for hypothyroidism

An international research team led by physician-scientists at Rush University Medical Center have gained new insights into hypothyroidism - a condition affecting about 10 million people in the U.S. - that may lead to new treatment protocols for the disease, particularly among the approximately 15 percent of patients for whom standard treatments are less effective.

14 Jan 2015