Huntington’s disease is a progressive and aggressively debilitating brain disorder that causes uncontrolled movements, psychological problems, and loss of cognition. It is caused by a mutation in the gene that encodes the protein huntingtin, causing it to build an abnormally long tail of the amino acid glutamine. This tail prevents huntingtin from folding properly and […]
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Study gives clues to the origin of Huntington’s disease, and a new way to find drugs
The first signs of Huntington’s, an inherited disease that slowly deteriorates bodies and minds, don’t typically surface until middle age. But new findings suggest that something in the brain might be amiss long before symptoms arise, and earlier than has ever been observed. Using a new technology, Rockefeller scientists were able to trace the causes […]
Research describes how neurons could disconnect from each other in Huntington’s disease
A hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington’s is the progressive death of nerve cells in the brain. The cells don’t die quickly, though. They first start to disconnect from each other because their neurites—long finger-like extensions that make connections all through the brain—become smaller. Now, using animal models and nerve cells grown in the lab, […]