UC Davis investigators achieve important step toward treating Huntington’s disease

A team of researchers at the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures has developed a technique for using stem cells to deliver therapy that specifically targets the genetic abnormality found in Huntington’s disease, a hereditary brain disorder that causes progressive uncontrolled movements, dementia and death. The findings, now available online in the journal Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, suggest a promising approach that might block the disease from advancing.

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Regulatory enzyme overexpression may protect against neurodegeneration in Huntington’s disease

Treatment that increases brain levels of an important regulatory enzyme may slow the loss of brain cells that characterizes Huntington’s disease (HD) and other neurodegenerative disorders. In a report receiving advance online publication in Nature Medicine, a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research team reports that increased expression of Sirt1, one of a family of enzymes called sirtuins, in the brain of a mouse model of HD protected against neurodegeneration. They also identified a potential mechanism for this protective effect.

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Dantrolene protects neurons from Huntington’s disease

Huntington’s disease (HD) is characterized by ongoing destruction of specific neurons within the brain. It affects a person’s ability to walk, talk, and think - leading to involuntary movement and loss of muscle co-ordination. New research published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Molecular Neurodegeneration shows that the RyanR inhibitor Dantrolene is able to reduce the severity of walking and balance problems in a mouse model of HD.

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New insight into the cellular defects in Huntington’s disease

Huntington disease is a devastating neurogenerative disorder that causes a progressive loss of functional capacity and reduced life span. It is an inherited condition caused by a mutant HTT gene. Although this has been known for many years, the functions of the normal Htt protein and the mechanisms by which the mutant protein generated from the mutant HTT gene causes disease are not well understood. A team of researchers led by Frédéric Saudou, at the Institut Curie, France, has now uncovered a new function for normal Htt protein and determined that this function is disrupted in a mouse model of Huntington disease and in patients with the disorder.

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Novel ‘prodrug’ alleviates symptoms in Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s mice

A study in a special early online publication of Cell, a Cell Press publication, reveals a promising new slow-release compound that protects mice against the neurodegenerative effects of both Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease. The ‘prodrug’ known only as JM6 works through a pathway involved in the breakdown of the amino acid tryptophan.

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New drugs target delay of Huntington’s symptoms

McMaster University researchers have discovered a new drug target that may be effective at preventing the onset of Huntington’s disease

Hamilton, ON (May 29, 2011) – McMaster University researchers have discovered a new drug target that may be effective at preventing the onset of Huntington’s disease, working much the same way heart medications slow the progression of heart disease and reduce heart attacks.

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Huntington’s disease breakthrough equals hope for patients

A huge leap forward in understanding Huntington’s disease may give patients hope for a cure.

Laboratory tests on skin cells and post-mortem brain tissue of Huntington’s disease patients determined that an overactive protein triggers a chain reaction that causes brain nerve cells to die. Toning down the activity of that protein, known as DRP1, prevented the chain reaction and kept those cells alive, according to the research team led by University of Central Florida Professor Ella Bossy-Wetzel.

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New hope in fight against Huntington’s disease

University of Leicester-led research uncovers potential new approaches for tackling devastating disorder

Hope for new ways of treating devastating neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington’s disease has been raised by a trans-Atlantic team of researchers thanks to the use of cutting-edge genetic techniques.

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Stem cell advance a step forward for treatment of brain diseases

Scientists have created a way to isolate neural stem cells – cells that give rise to all the cell types of the brain – from human brain tissue with unprecedented precision, an important step toward developing new treatments for conditions of the nervous system, like Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases and spinal cord injury.

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Natural compound shows promise against Huntington’s disease

LA JOLLA, CA-Fisetin, a naturally occurring compound found in strawberries and other fruits and vegetables, slows the onset of motor problems and delays death in three models of Huntington’s disease, according to researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The study, published in the online edition of Human Molecular Genetics, sets the stage for further investigations into fisetin’s neuroprotective properties in Huntington’s and other neurodegenerative conditions.

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