Eye movement could help track Huntington’s disease activity
Neuralight, CDHI Foundation exploring method for possible use in clinical trials
Healthtech company Neuralight is teaming up with the CHDI Foundation to explore the possibility of monitoring eye movements as a method to track Huntington’s disease activity in clinical trials.
The CHDI Foundation is a nonprofit biomedical research organization dedicated to advancing new therapies that can slow the progression of Huntington’s disease.
“We’re honored to work alongside CHDI in advancing endpoint development for Huntington’s disease,” Edmund Ben-Ami, CEO of Neuralight, said in a company press release. “We aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of clinical trials in Huntington’s disease, facilitating the development of new effective treatments.”
Identifying endpoints for clinical trials a major challenge
Huntington’s disease is a genetic disorder that causes the dysfunction and degeneration of brain cells, leading to symptoms including abnormal movements, cognitive difficulties, and behavioral changes.
Although treatments to help manage symptoms are available, no therapy has ever been proven to slow the progression of Huntington’s. Identifying treatments that can actually alter disease progression is a major goal of the Huntington’s research community.
When researchers are designing clinical trials to test promising new therapies, one of the biggest challenges is identifying the right endpoints — measures that can be used to track differences in disease progression. Ideal endpoints are objective, highly reflective of underlying disease processes, and can be measured without too much hassle for trial participants.
Neurological disorders such as Huntington’s often cause abnormalities in eye movements. Since 2022, Neuralight has been conducting pop-up research at the Huntington’s Disease Society of America Annual Convention, most recently in Indianapolis. These initiatives engage individuals with Huntington’s and their caregivers in real-time research activities during the convention.
Neuralight’s platform offers a unique opportunity to sensitively monitor for subtle neurological changes in people with HD, especially earlier in the disease course when the signs and symptoms are much less apparent.
By using NeuraLight’s webcam-based platform, which tracks eye movements using a computer webcam, the team has been collecting eye movement data to identify subtle neurological changes associated with Huntington’s. Through these research activities, the company has amassed a large dataset of eye movement patterns associated with the disease.
With the new collaboration, Neuralight and CHDI will explore whether technology to track eye movements may be suitable for use as an endpoint in Huntington’s clinical trials. The hope is to one day use Neuralight’s platform as a way to track the efficacy of potential Huntington’s treatments.
“We’re always looking for ways to make HD [Huntington’s disease] clinical trials more efficient and patient-centric,” said Swati Sathe, vice president of clinical research at CHDI. “Neuralight’s platform offers a unique opportunity to sensitively monitor for subtle neurological changes in people with HD, especially earlier in the disease course when the signs and symptoms are much less apparent.”
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