Huntington’s Disease News and Research

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Offspring of mice treated with drug had delayed onset, reduced symptoms of Huntington's disease

Famine, drug abuse and even stress can "silence" certain genes, causing health problems in generations to come. Now scientists are wondering—could therapies that change gene expression in parents help their children?

23 Dec 2014

Scientists develop new system for studying how proteins, other biological molecules unfold and refold

Collaborating scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California San Diego have developed a powerful new system for studying how proteins and other biological molecules form and lose their natural folded structures.

19 Dec 2014

Brunel scientists find way to target hard-to-reach cancers using 'Trojan horse' nanoparticles

Scientists at Brunel University London have found a way of targeting hard-to-reach cancers and degenerative diseases using nanoparticles, but without causing the damaging side effects the treatment normally brings.

12 Dec 2014

University of Illinois study could provide insight into protein-misfolding diseases

When a large protein unfolds in transit through a cell, it slows down and can get stuck in traffic. Using a specialized microscope -- a sort of cellular traffic camera -- University of Illinois chemists now can watch the way the unfolded protein diffuses.

10 Dec 2014

BUSM's Carmela Abraham receives 2014 Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium Award

Carmela Abraham, PhD, professor of biochemistry and pharmacology at Boston University School of Medicine, was one of six recipients of this year's Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium Award out of nearly 60 applicants. The grant was awarded to her for her work on multiple sclerosis and the role of the life extension protein Klotho in the limited repair of white matter in the disease.

7 Dec 2014

Researchers remake brain and gut stem cells to study potential therapies for fatal diseases

Research scientists have developed a novel method to re-create brain and intestinal stem cells from patients who died decades ago, using DNA from stored blood samples to study the potential causes of debilitating illnesses such as inflammatory bowel disease.

3 Dec 2014

Tufts University study explores relationship between transcription, expansions of DNA repeats

Researchers in human genetics have known that long nucleotide repeats in DNA lead to instability of the genome and ultimately to human hereditary diseases such Freidreich's ataxia and Huntington's disease.

26 Nov 2014

Prana's Phase 2 trial data on Huntington Disease published in The Lancet Neurology

Prana Biotechnology has today announced the results of its Phase 2 trial in Huntington Disease, REACH2HD, has been published online in one of the world’s leading medical journals, The Lancet Neurology.

18 Nov 2014

Massachusetts Eye and Ear offers femtosecond laser technology to Boston-area patients

Patients choosing cataract surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear may now elect to have laser-assisted cataract surgery with the femtosecond LensSx® Laser. The hospital is one of the few in New England to offer the advanced technology, which enables surgeons to more precisely perform cataract surgery aided by a computer-controlled laser.

14 Nov 2014

Scientists identify new therapeutic targets, screening test to uncover compounds for memory disorders

In a pair of related studies, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a number of new therapeutic targets for memory disorders and have developed a new screening test to uncover compounds that may one day work against those disorders.

12 Nov 2014

Stopping the death of synapses: an interview with Dr Soledad Galli

Synapses are the sites that connect neurons – sites where information is passed from one neuron to another. They are highly specialized structures and synaptic function is crucial for normal brain function.

11 Nov 2014

Scientists uncover small set of genes critical in aging and neurodegenerative disease

Aging is the most significant and universal risk factor for developing neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. This risk increases disproportionately with age, but no one really knows why.

4 Nov 2014

TSRI scientists discover signaling pathway that contribute to Huntington's disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered a major contributor to Huntington's disease, a devastating progressive neurological condition that produces involuntary movements, emotional disturbance and cognitive impairment.

29 Oct 2014

Digoxin drug may be adaptable for ALS treatment, study suggests

Digoxin, a medication used in the treatment of heart failure, may be adaptable for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive, paralyzing disease, suggests new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

27 Oct 2014

Longer looks: Obamacare in the midterm campaign; watching Ebola mutate; lessons on dying

According to Kantar Media, a firm that tracks political advertising, health care is the main subject of campaign ads, especially Republican ones. Obamacare is unpopular - over half of Americans disapprove of it. Republicans talk about it constantly on the campaign trail, though not as intemperately as they did during their own party's primaries. Democrats scarcely mention it (10/18).

24 Oct 2014

Omeros provides update on OMS824 for treatment of schizophrenia, Huntington's disease

Omeros Corporation today provided an update on OMS824, the company's phosphodiesterase 10 (PDE10) inhibitor in development for the treatment of schizophrenia and Huntington's disease.

21 Oct 2014

Researchers discover mechanism that leads to generation of new nerve cells after stroke

A previously unknown mechanism through which the brain produces new nerve cells after a stroke has been discovered at Lund University and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The findings have been published in the journal SCIENCE.

10 Oct 2014

New research reveals innovative way to classify severity of stroke

New research conducted at the Florida State University-based National High Magnetic Field Laboratory has revealed a new, innovative way to classify the severity of a stroke, aid in diagnosis and evaluate potential treatments.

10 Oct 2014

Caltech researcher explores link between variable heart rate, health and fitness

Although the heart beats out a very familiar "lub-dub" pattern that speeds up or slows down as our activity increases or decreases, the pattern itself isn't as regular as you might think. In fact, the amount of time between heartbeats can vary even at a "constant" heart rate-and that variability, doctors have found, is a good thing.

23 Sep 2014

Six research institutions awarded NIH grants to create database of human cellular responses

Building on a successful three-year pilot project, the National Institutes of Health has awarded more than $64 million to six research institutions to create a database of human cellular responses, the Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures.

15 Sep 2014