Next month’s annual conference of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) in Washington, D.C., couldn’t come at a better time, says Marshall Summar, MD, chairman of NORD’s board of directors. “The pace of discovery in rare diseases has gone from brisk to hypersonic,” Summar told Bionews Services, publisher…
Laquinimod, an experimental immunomodulatory therapy developed by Active Biotech and Teva Pharmaceuticals, reduced signs of inflammation and brain atrophy (shrinkage) in patients with Huntington’s disease, data from an exploratory analysis of a Phase 2 trial show. The new data were presented by Active Biotech in three posters…
I recently experienced two occasions of complete helplessness. The first involved my dog, Baby Girl. She has big ears, a normal characteristic of cocker spaniels, which often get infected. The combination of infection and a buildup of earwax sent Baby Girl and me to the veterinarian. Baby…
Huntington’s disease may manifest itself for the first time during neurulation, a process in which the neural tube — the precursor of our nervous system (brain and spinal cord) — develops while an embryo is forming, scientists report. These findings are in the study “Self-organizing neuruloids…
In my previous column, I talked about the day I received my diagnosis. I got through the following weeks by telling myself that nothing in my life had changed, and that I had no choice but to move forward. I knew time was not going to stop…
People with Huntington’s disease tend to use their own memories less in engaging with those around them, a new study found. The researchers say a diminished capacity for autobiographical recollection in these patients may prevent “the benefits of interpersonal bonding.” Titled “Discrete changes in the frequency…
My husband and I were standing in a line of hundreds of people waiting to meet Michael J. Fox, one of the stars of the “Back to the Future” trilogy of movies. All around us were adults dressed up as their favorite comic and movie characters. We had…
Caregiving is an honorable position because it involves a lot of love. It also includes questions that begin with, “What if?” As you may know, my wife was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease last year. Right now, life is “good.” I put that word in quotation marks because her symptoms…
Age of onset in Huntington’s disease is associated with a property of the inherited CAG repeat length in the huntingtin (HTT) gene — which determines the probability of further repeat expansions in nerve cells — rather than with the toxicity of the protein it produces, a study suggests. Along…
My wife and I don’t argue often. Here’s why: When we started dating, she shared with me her brilliant idea of a happy marriage. Jill asked me, “Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?” I often choose happy. As my family knows, sometimes I…
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