Joana Fernandes, PhD,  —

Huntington’s disease specialist Herwig Lange will give an online presentation Thursday, April 6, on environmental factors that impact the disease’s onset, progression and severity. Patients, caregivers, disease advocates, foundation members and others interested in Huntington’s can register for the free webinar here. The presentation will be titled “Beyond Genetics: The Importance…

Blood samples may be crucial in tracking brain changes that occur in people with Huntington’s disease, a new study finds. Researchers also report that Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s patients have certain inflammatory mechanisms in common, suggesting a potential for shared therapeutic approaches. The study, “Huntington’s disease blood and brain show a common gene expression pattern and share an…

Depression, one of the symptoms of Huntington’s disease, may be associated with structural and functional changes in brain wiring occurring before the most common symptoms appear, according to new research. The study, “Structural And Functional Brain Network Correlates Of Depressive Symptoms In Premanifest Huntington’s Disease,” was published in the…

A new Japanese study confirms that a phenomenon called “ballooning cell death” (BCD) occurs in patients with Huntington’s disease. The study, “A novel form of necrosis, TRIAD, occurs in human Huntington’s disease,” appeared in the journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications. Basically, three types of cell deaths occur in cells: apoptosis (cells program…

A recent study reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of using animal studies to investigate the potential of stem cell therapy to treat Huntington’s disease. The review, titled “Regenerative Medicine In Huntington’s Disease: Strengths And Weaknesses Of Preclinical Studies,” was published in the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. Huntington’s…

Levels of a protein called neurofilament light (NFL) could be a valuable biomarker for tracking Huntington’s disease progression, according to a study. The research, “Tau Or Neurofilament Light—Which Is The More Suitable Biomarker For Huntington’s Disease?,” was published in the journal PLoS One. Huntington’s is caused by an…

BRACE, a U.K. charity supporting dementia research, awarded more than £58,500 ($72,631) to a team of scientists investigating how a faulty “recycling” mechanism in neurons contributes to the onset of neurological diseases such as Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s. The winning team at Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry (PUPSMD)…

Researchers discovered new biomarkers of early-stage Huntington’s disease in sheep with the disease, according to a new study. These findings may help detect the disease before symptoms appear, and could aid in the design of new therapies. The study, “Metabolic Profiling Of Presymptomatic Huntington’s Disease Sheep Reveals Novel Biomarkers,”…

Blocking the expression of mutated huntingtin — the protein involved in Huntington’s disease — by directly targeting the faulty gene may be a way of stopping disease progression in patients, according to results of an early study. The study was published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research, under the title “CTG…

Enhancing a cell’s quality control mechanism to get rid of the faulty proteins that are a hallmark of Huntington’s disease may help prevent patients’ motor and cognitive loss, a study suggests. The researchers’ discovery of how the quality control mechanism fails may pave the way toward the development of novel therapies…