News

Use of antihypertensives — medications used to treat high blood pressure — is associated with milder disease, slower progression, and delayed clinical onset in people with Huntington’s disease, a study found. The findings suggest an “exciting future avenue to explore the repurposing of specific antihypertensive medications for the…

Beginning on Feb. 29, Rare Disease Day, chapters from notable scientific books and clinical review articles covering rare disorders will be available free-of-charge from Elsevier. The offer runs through April 30, and aims to supports work by researchers and clinicians into a better understanding of and treatments for rare diseases, as well…

Alpha-synuclein, the protein implicated in Parkinson’s disease, may play a role in Huntington’s disease after researchers found elevated levels of the protein in patients, a recent study suggests. The study, “Elevated Serum α-Synuclein Levels in Huntington’s Disease Patients,” was published in Neuroscience.

Starting a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit isn’t easy, but the National Organization for Rare Disorders gave a few tips for those  looking to begin the complex process in its Feb. 20 webinar.  William Whitman…

Linda Lacroix of Milton, Vermont, never imagined that at the age of 68, she’d be working as a lunch lady at the local high school cafeteria. But that’s what she’s had to do to pay the mortgage on the family home so her 67-year-old husband, Joe, has a place to…

An abundance of events are afoot around the world to mark Rare Disease Day 2020 on Feb. 29. The activities are focused on heightening awareness about rare diseases and the hundreds of millions of individuals they are thought to affect. Patients, caregivers, and advocates worldwide will sport denim ribbons…

Digital gait measurements collected through sensors can be used as a biomarker for walking impairments in people with Huntington’s disease (HD), a new study suggests. Individuals with HD were found to have smaller stride lengths and slower walking speeds, with more variation in their walking patterns, compared…

Artificial intelligence (AI) can predict disease progression using blood samples, a first long-term study of the molecular changes underlying neurodegeneration reports. Scientists at McGill University trained an AI algorithm to analyze blood and post-mortem brain tissue from 1,969 people with Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. From the blood…

Neural stem cell researchers at the University of California, Irvine, (UCI) will collaborate with AgeX Therapeutics to develop cell-based therapies to treat Huntington’s disease and other neurological disorders. Leslie Thompson…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a vast government bureaucracy, employs about 17,500 people and had a budget of $5.7 billion in 2019. Yet even with its enormous resources, the FDA these days relies more and more on patients to…