Scientists at the University of Guelph in Canada, have concluded in a recent study, that exercise can increase the use of the neurotransmitter glutamate in the brain, potentially lowering toxicity associated with excessive levels of the compound in neurodegenerative conditions such as Huntington’s disease. Glutamate is one of the…
A professor at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded two grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling over $4.5 million to study Huntington’s disease (HD) and the causes behind this devastating disease. The recipient of the grants is Rohit V. Pappu, the Edwin H. Murty Professor…
Converging evidence suggests that neurodegenerative conditions, such as Huntington’s disease, are caused by persistent inflammatory immune processes that ultimately kill neurons. This insight, presented by researchers at University of Adelaide, Australia, might change the way researchers approach drug development for neurodegenerative diseases and possibly alter the trajectory of unsuccessful…
Over the last few decades, there has been an increasing number of clinical trials focused on the search of new therapeutic strategies to manage Huntington’s Disease (HD), an incurable neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor, cognitive and psychiatric problems. However, there have been few advances, and research is now focusing on…
Beneficial effects of the investigational neuroprotective drug olesoxime have mainly been attributed to its effects on mitochondria, but new research suggests it also blocks calpain — a molecule directly involved in Huntington’s disease. The findings indicate that exploring the drug’s exact mechanism might bring scientists closer to effective treatments for Huntington’s.
Olesoxime, a drug shown to have neuroprotective properties, may have beneficial effects in Huntington’s patients through reduction of calpain-mediated huntingtin cleavage, according to the study “The calpain-suppressing effects of olesoxime in Huntington’s disease,” published in the journal Rare Diseases. Olesoxime is a small molecule…
Exemplar Genetics announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) mini pig for use in scientific studies. In the future, this type of model could become an invaluable addition to study diseases such as Huntington’s disease, as mouse models have proven insufficient at optimally translating preclinical research…
The Weill Family Foundation and Joan and Sanford I. “Sandy” Weill have donated $185,000,000 to the University of California, San Francisco, to establish the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences in an effort to expedite the development of new therapies for brain and nervous system diseases, including Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s…
Powerful artificial lights, known as Lumie lamps, are being donated to neurologists at Cambridge University’s School of Clinical Medicine for a research project aimed at improving the quality of life for people with Huntington’s disease (HD). Bright light has been shown to have a strong impact in people’s levels of alertness, mood ,and…
A research report discusses the use of six versions of a new type of molecule, known as xyloketal B, for the treatment of Huntington’s disease. Scientists tested the six possible drugs in a worm model of Huntington’s disease, Caenorhabditis elegans. Results of the study,  “Xyloketal-derived small molecules show protective effect…
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