News

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…

A geneticist and neuropsychologist whose research led to the identification of the gene involved in Huntington’s disease (HD) has been named the inaugural recipient of the Hermann J. Muller Award for Contributions to Our Understanding of Genes and Society, a new honor by Indiana University Bloomington. Nancy…

A recent study published in the journal Neuron by University of California at Irvine researchers revealed that the protein PIAS1 regulates the accumulation of a mutant protein in Huntington’s disease, and its expression associates with disease pathogenesis in a mouse model of the disease. The study, “PIAS1 Regulates Mutant Huntingtin Accumulation…