Copyright 2008 Medical News Today Latest Huntingtons Disease News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/huntingtons_disease/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125154.php Therapeutic strategies to strengthen antioxidant defences could help to prevent the progression of Huntington's Disease. This is the suggestion from the results of the first ever trial on human samples carried out by researchers at the University of Lleida. The results have been published in the latest issue of Free Radical Biology & Medicine magazine. Huntingtons Disease Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124423.php Findings establish a platform to understand G protein-coupled receptors; may help in development of new class of Parkinson's treatments Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have determined the structure of an adenosine receptor that plays a critical role in a number of important physiological processes including pain, breathing, and heart function. Parkinson's Disease Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/122748.php Duke University Medical Center scientists have made a significant finding that could lead to better drugs for several degenerative diseases including Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Compounds that block the activity of a specific enzyme prevented brain injury and greatly improved survival in fruit flies that had the same disease process found in Huntington's disease. Huntingtons Disease Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/122231.php Repligen Corporation (Nasdaq: RGEN) reported publication of a preclinical study demonstrating that a novel histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor improved disease symptoms in a transgenic animal model of Huntington's disease. The study, led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute, demonstrated that oral administration of the drug candidate to the mice after the onset of symptoms slowed the progression of disease. Huntingtons Disease Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/120486.php Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) and Medivation, Inc.(NASDAQ: MDVN) announced today that they have entered into an agreement to develop and commercialize Dimebon, Medivation's investigational drug for treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease. Dimebon currently is being evaluated in an international, confirmatory Phase III trial in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (http://www.connectionstudy. Alzheimer's / Dementia Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/120162.php PCP2 Shapes Light Response of ON Bipolar Cells Ying Xu, Pyroja Sulaiman, Rod Feddersen, Jian Liu, Robert G. Smith, and Noga Vardi Activation of G-protein-coupled receptors (e.g., metabotropic glutamate receptors in retinal ON bipolar cells) causes GTP to bind to the G-protein in place of GDP, resulting in dissociation and activation of Gα and Gβγ subunits and subsequent downstream effects (e.g., closing of cation channels). Neurology / Neuroscience Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/118505.php The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Friday that it has approved Prestwick Pharmaceuticals Inc's new drug Xenazine (generic name tetrabenazine) for the treatment of chorea in people with Huntington's disease, heralding the first treatment to receive US approval for any of the disease's symptoms. Huntington's is a rare inherited neurological disorder characterized by chorea or jerky, uncontrolled movements. Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/118420.php The Hereditary Disease Foundation (HDF) is extremely pleased the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Xenazine, or tetrabenazine, for the treatment of chorea associated with Huntington's disease. "Chorea is a major cause of disability and death in patients with Huntington's disease. Huntingtons Disease Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/117597.php US researchers have found a way to produce immortal cell strains and tissue types from diseased patients by converting their cells into pluripotent stem cells with the same genetic errors. The new cell lines will enable scientists to investigate ten different genetic disorders like Parkinson's, muscular dystrophy, and type 1 diabetes in the test tube instead of in the patient, a huge step forward compared to current methods. Stem Cell Research Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115061.php Huntington's disease normally only begins to cause its tell-tale memory and physical coordination impairments after affected individuals reach the age of 30. The nerve damage that creates these impairments is thought to be partly due to a destructive immune response in the brain. The current study now shows that this inflammatory response starts to brew elsewhere in the body long before it inflicts brain damage. Huntingtons Disease Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115035.php The damage to brain tissue seen in Huntington's disease may be caused by an overactive immune response in the bloodstream and the brain, according to new findings from two teams of researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle and University College London. The findings were published online July 14 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Huntingtons Disease Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114177.php Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN) announced top-line results of a Phase 2 study showing that its investigational drug Dimebon™ significantly improved cognitive function in patients with mild-to-moderate Huntington's disease (HD). Cognitive function was significantly improved over placebo (p=0.03) as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the cognition scale most widely used by clinicians to assess patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Huntingtons Disease Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114152.php Medivation, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDVN) announced top-line results of a Phase 2 study showing that its investigational drug Dimebon(TM) significantly improved cognitive function in patients with mild-to-moderate Huntington's disease (HD). Cognitive function was significantly improved over placebo (p=0.03) as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the cognition scale most widely used by clinicians to assess patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Huntingtons Disease Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/110804.php On June 10, 2008 the scientific journal Vaccine published a paper by the Massachusetts based biotech company Cure Lab, Inc., demonstrating that a protein sequence important in neurodegenerative Huntington's disease can be safely used as a new generation of vaccine adjuvants. The major component of every vaccine is an antigen that elicits specific immunity to a particular virus, bacteria or even cancer cells. Immune System / Vaccines Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/110493.php Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. ("Raptor" or the "Company") (OTC Bulletin Board: RPTP), announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has granted orphan drug designation for cysteamine bitartrate ("cysteamine") for the treatment of Huntington's disease ("HD"). Cysteamine is currently approved by the FDA and European Medicines Agency ("EMEA") to treat nephropathic cystinosis ("cystinosis"), a rare lysosomal storage disease. Huntingtons Disease Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/110296.php Kevin Harrington, a Bay Area native suffering from the effects of Huntington's Disease, may have lost his mother, grandfather, great-grandfather and a great uncle to this tragic disease but he refuses to lose hope for a cure. So he organized the 2008 Mason-McDuffie Mortgage Invitational "Swinging to Cure Huntington's Disease" golf tournament to be held at the Blackhawk Country Club on Monday, June 16th, 2008. Huntingtons Disease Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/109913.php The Huntington Study Group has launched a Phase III clinical trial, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (part of the National Institutes of Health [NIH]), to determine the effect of the maximum effective dosage of Coenzyme Q10 on cognitive function in individuals with Huntington's Disease (HD). They will also examine the long-term safety of CoQ10. Huntingtons Disease Mon, 26 May 2008 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/108764.php Scientists have created a tool for mopping up the clumps of mutant protein that drive neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease. Emory University researchers engineered a virus to make an intracellular antibody or "intrabody" against huntingtin, the protein whose mutant forms poison the brain cells of people with Huntington's. Huntingtons Disease Fri, 23 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/108465.php Expanding on prior research performed at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn biologists have determined that faulty RNA, the blueprint that creates mutated, toxic proteins, contributes to a family of neurodegenerative disorders in humans. Neurology / Neuroscience Tue, 20 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/108016.php Scientists have developed the first genetically altered monkey model that replicates some symptoms observed in patients with Huntington's disease, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers are now able to better understand this complex, devastating and incurable genetic disorder affecting the brain. Huntingtons Disease Mon, 12 May 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107049.php Research Highlights: Mechanism of action of compound found to induce neurotransmitter activity in brain cells The findings may lead researchers to develop potential novel therapies to treat Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, Neurology / Neuroscience Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/102338.php The simple act of running in an exercise wheel delays the onset of some symptoms of Huntington's disease in a mouse model of the fatal human disorder according to research published in the open-access journal BMC Neuroscience. These findings add insights into the pathogenesis of the disease and suggest possible preventive therapeutic targets. Huntington's disease affects up to one person in every 10 000, but clusters in families and certain populations. Huntingtons Disease Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/102207.php Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRT), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs to treat diseases of aging, announced that Sirtris Scientific Advisory Board Co-Chair Leonard P. Huntingtons Disease Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/101460.php Research funded by the Wellcome Trust has provided a number of promising new drug targets for Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disease. Scientists at the University of Cambridge have identified a number of candidate drugs to investigate further which encourage cells to "eat" the malformed proteins that lead to the disease. Huntingtons Disease Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/100419.php Avicena Group, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: AVGO), a late stage biotechnology company that develops central nervous system therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases, announced that it met with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and will proceed with a Phase III trial of its lead drug candidate, HD-02, for the treatment of Huntington's disease, pending final analysis of completed animal toxicology studies. Huntingtons Disease