Author Archives: Magdalena Kegel

Neurofeedback training may increase brain connectivity in patients with Huntington’s disease, possibly improving behavior and movement abnormalities, say British researchers at University College London. Their study, “Stimulating neural plasticity with real-time fMRI neurofeedback in Huntington’s disease: A proof of concept study,” appeared in the journal Human Brain Mapping.

A protein responsible for protecting nerve cells can become embedded in other substances in the brains of  Huntington’s patients, preventing it from performing its neuroprotective work, Spanish researchers report. Another important finding was that the areas where the ATF5 protein are embedded also contain clusters of the faulty huntingtin protein…

Researchers have come up with a new method to study the interactions between cell components that are thought to be defective in patients with Huntington’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. But while the study answered some initial questions of how these cell components, or organelles, collaborate, much work remains,…

Less is known about the late stages of Huntington’s disease than about its earlier stages, particularly concerning patients enrolled in hospice care. Researchers studying this patient group recently concluded that they would benefit from more extensive involvement of hospice in end-of-life care. The study, “Utilization of hospice services in…

Researchers in England and Wales have identified a gene linked to disease progression in Huntington’s disease, shedding new light on the poorly understood mechanisms that cause the disorder. Although the results — published in the journal The Lancet Neurology —hold no immediate prospect of leading to a cure, researchers say…

A snapshot of a key brain receptor in action might advance the understanding of disease processes in Huntington’s disease and allow scientists to identify new treatments, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) hope. Their work, published in the journal Nature, describes how the neurotransmitter glutamate binds to…

Researchers have created the first freely available data network — called HDNetDB — that aims to advance research into Huntington’s disease and speed up drug discovery for the incurable condition. The approach, described in an article in the journal Scientific Reports, particularly focuses on the complex molecular workings…

A factor called neurofilament light (NfL) may act as a biomarker of progression in Huntington’s disease, as blood levels of the molecule increase with more severe neurodegeneration. However, the factor also might offer a better means to predict disease onset in people carrying huntingtin mutations, as demonstrated in the study,…

Voyager Therapeutics has a new candidate for the treatment of Huntington’s disease. The selected gene therapy is called VY-HTT01 and aims to prevent the production of protein from the mutant huntingtin gene (HTT). The compound is now undergoing preclinical studies of drug characteristics and toxicology as the company plans to file…

A team of researchers has discovered new insights into cell processes that have gone awry in Huntingon’s disease (HD) patients. This discovery could point scientists toward a potential method of interfering with those processes. The study, “KEAP1-modifying small molecule reveals muted NRF2 signaling responses in neural stem cells from Huntington’s…