A New Test Has Been Designed to Test the Effectiveness of Possible Huntington's Disease Drugs

Huntington's disease is a terminal genetic disorder. It does not surface until adulthood. A person who had a parent with Huntington's disease has a 50% chance of contracting it. There is no cure, and more than 250,000 people in the United States either have the disease or are at high risk for it.

Huntington's, over time, causes certain brain cells to die. A patient with this disease may have uncontrolled movements, emotional problems and disturbances, and loss of general mental ability.

The test uses cultured cells as test subjects for various potential Huntington's Disease Drugs. The cultured cells are placed in an environment that simulates the conditions that real brain cells harmed by the disease suffer under. So far, two compounds, memantine and riluzole, have successfully kept cells alive at under theses conditions.

These compounds, among other compounds that successfully keep cells alive under simulated Huntington's Disease conditions, may prove effective in slowing down the progression of the disease or even prevent/treat it. Future treatments that spawn from this research can prevent the devastating consequences that befall the people and the people associated with the people who contract it.

http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/cda/dept37389/files/325493.html