How could a musical lead to tears and a conversation about my wife’s Huntington’s disease (HD)? That was my thought as Jill and I recently walked out of the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., after seeing a former Broadway musical called “Jagged Little Pill,” which was inspired…
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The quote that best describes my wife, Jill, is “Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between,” from Maya Angelou‘s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” When the love of my life started showing early signs of Huntington’s disease (HD)…
A computer-based test called SelfCog, which tests various cognitive functions in a standardized manner, yielded promising results in assessing cognitive decline in people with early-stage Huntington’s disease, a study has found. SelfCog demonstrated sensitivity to detect cognitive decline over a one-year follow-up, outperforming traditional cognitive assessments, and showed associations…
After my beloved wife, Jill, and I left a recent party, she was a little shaken up. When I asked why she was upset, she said, “Do you think love is enough to sustain a marriage?” I said, “Yes, of course.” She said, “Did you know the University of…
Sarah Tabrizi, MD, PhD, a researcher at the University College London (UCL) in the U.K., is the winner of this year’s Lund University Arvid Carlsson Award for her work in understanding Huntington’s disease and developing treatments to slow or stop its progression. The prize is given to researchers who…
When my wife, Jill, was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease (HD) in 2018, she had been feeling anxious and depressed. It was one of the reasons she decided to go through with genetic testing, as these are common symptoms that act as warning signs for gene-positive…
The success of CDNF — fully, cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor — in improving motor coordination in a mouse model of Huntington’s disease supports this protein’s development as a potential therapy for the rare disorder, according to a new study. In the study, CDNF was injected into the brain of…
I’ve always loved television shows about the Wild West and cops who are smart and funny. There’s a swagger about the characters that I always wanted to embody. Plus, they always beat the bad guys. Since my wife, Jill, was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease in 2018, we have…
I attended my first Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) Annual Convention when I was 9 years old, and have since gone more than 10 other times. Families, clinicians, healthcare professionals, pharmaceutical companies, and more are present at the three-day event, which changes location every year. The convention is…
The oral therapy valbenazine significantly reduces involuntary muscle contractions, or chorea, and patient-reported disease burden in people with Huntington’s disease, according to results from the Phase 3 KINECT-HD clinical trial. Top-line data were announced by Neurocrine Biosciences, the therapy’s manufacturer, in 2021. The full findings have…
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