Australian scientists have identified the behaviour of the mutant protein ‘huntingtin’ which leads to the fatal Huntington’s disease providing potential targets to treat the disease, a University of Melbourne study reveals. Huntington’s disease is a genetic disease with no cure, characterized by a steady decline in motor control and the dysfunction and death of brain cells. The cause of the disease has long baffled scientists. Symptoms tend to first appear when the person is in their thirties or forties. The most common symptom is jerky movements of the arms and legs…

They might not be known for their big brains, but fruit flies are helping to make scientists and doctors smarter about what causes Huntington’s disease and how to treat it. New research, published in the journal GENETICS describes a laboratory test that allows scientists to evaluate large numbers of fruit fly genes for a possible role in the formation of plaque-like protein aggregates within cells…

Ku70, a component of the DNA repair complex, is shown to be a new critical player in the DNA damage-linked pathologies of Huntington’s disease (HD), according to a study in the May 3 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. DNA repair defends against naturally occurring or disease-related DNA damage during the long lifespan of neurons. Impairments to this process underlie “polyQ” diseases, a major group of hereditary neurodegenerative disorders that includes HD. Understanding the multiple pathogenic pathways that lead to such DNA repair dysfunction is key for the development of new therapies…

In a step towards a possible treatment for Huntington’s disease, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have shown for the first time that the accumulation of a mutated protein may explain damaging cellular behavior in Huntington’s disease. Their research is described in the April 11 online edition of Nature Neuroscience. Huntington’s disease, which afflicted the folksinger Woody Guthrie, is a fatal, inherited neurodegenerative disorder…

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a cruel, hereditary condition that leads to severe physical and mental deterioration, psychiatric problems and eventually, death. Currently, there are no treatments to slow down or stop it. HD sufferers are born with the disease although they do not show symptoms until late in life. In a new study published in The Journal of Neuroscience, Stephen Ferguson and Fabiola Ribeiro of Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario identified a protective pathway in the brain that may explain why HD symptoms take so long to appear…

Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, TecDAX) announced the extension of its collaboration with CHDI Foundation, Inc. (CHDI) through to the end of 2012. The collaboration, which is aimed at finding new treatments for Huntington’s disease and represents one of the largest joint innovation drug discovery CNS alliances within Evotec, will provide Evotec with up to US$ 37.5 million in research funding over the next three years.

Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that its partner, Siena Biotech S.p.A., has commenced Phase 1 clinical testing of Elixir’s potent, first-in-class SIRT1 (sirtuin-1) inhibitor for the treatment of Huntington’s Disease. EX-527, also known as SEN0014196, is currently in a Phase 1a combined single and multiple ascending dose study in the European Union to assess safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers…

Scientists have identified a key molecular switch that may drive the onset of Huntington’s disease (HD), an incurable neurodegenerative disorder that leads to severe disruptions in muscle coordination and cognitive function. The research, published by Cell Press in the December 24 issue of the journal Neuron, enhances the understanding of HD pathogenesis and may direct new strategies for treating this devastating brain disease.

The kinase IKK phosphorylates the protein mutated in Huntington’s disease to promote its removal and neuron survival, but IKK may be a double-edged sword that increases neurotoxicity in later stages of the disease. The study, led by researchers from the University of California, Irvine, was published online December 21 in the Journal of Cell Biology. Huntington’s disease is caused by an expanded polyglutamine repeat in the protein Huntingtin (Htt), which causes the protein to aggregate and damage neurons…

The kinase IKK phosphorylates the protein mutated in Huntington’s disease to promote its removal and neuron survival, but IKK may be a double-edged sword that increases neurotoxicity in later stages of the disease. The study, led by researchers from the University of California, Irvine, was published online December 21 in the Journal of Cell Biology. Huntington’s disease is caused by an expanded polyglutamine repeat in the protein Huntingtin (Htt), which causes the protein to aggregate and damage neurons..