Huntington's Disease News and Research

Latest Huntington's Disease News and Research

Neuralstem announces registered direct placement of 5,200,000 shares of common stock

Neuralstem, Inc. announced today that it has entered into agreements with certain institutional and accredited investors for a registered direct placement of 5,200,000 shares of common stock at a price of $1.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $5,200,000.

6 Feb 2012

Alnylam receives U.S. patent allowance for LNP platform

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for patent application number 12/813,448, covering the company's proprietary second generation lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platform, including the "MC3" lipid.

30 Jan 2012

Prosensa secures €23M in new equity financing

Prosensa, the Dutch biopharmaceutical company focusing on RNA-modulating therapeutics for rare diseases with high unmet needs, announced today that it has raised €23 million in new equity financing.

25 Jan 2012

MSC-mediated RNAi transfer holds promise for Huntington's disease

A team of researchers at the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures has developed a technique for using stem cells to deliver therapy that specifically targets the genetic abnormality found in Huntington's disease, a hereditary brain disorder that causes progressive uncontrolled movements, dementia and death.

20 Jan 2012

Alnylam sues Tekmira over LNP-formulated siRNA molecules

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation in the U.S. District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

18 Jan 2012

Scientists identify compound that can help repair toxic RNA defect

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a compound that can help repair a specific type of defect in RNA, a type of genetic material.

18 Jan 2012

Disruption of circadian rhythms cause accelerated neurodegeneration and premature death

New research at Oregon State University provides evidence for the first time that disruption of circadian rhythms - the biological "clocks" found in many animals - can clearly cause accelerated neurodegeneration, loss of motor function and premature death.

11 Jan 2012

Alnylam files CTA with the U.K. MHRA to initiate ALN-TTR02 Phase I trial in ATTR

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has filed a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) with the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to initiate a Phase I clinical trial with ALN-TTR02, an RNAi therapeutic targeting transthyretin (TTR) for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis.

7 Jan 2012

Scripps professor receives pair of notable grants to study kinesin

Sathyanaryanan Puthanveettil, an assistant professor on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute, has been awarded a pair of notable grants to study a critical component of long-term memory formation.

6 Jan 2012

Positive preliminary results from Alnylam's Phase I ALN-PCS trial on severe hypercholesterolemia

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today the achievement of positive preliminary results from its ongoing clinical trial of ALN-PCS, an RNAi therapeutic targeting PCSK9 for the treatment of severe hypercholesterolemia.

5 Jan 2012

DNA stays too tightly wound in brain cells of patients with schizophrenia

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that DNA stays too tightly wound in certain brain cells of schizophrenic subjects. The findings suggest that drugs already in development for other diseases might eventually offer hope as a treatment for schizophrenia and related conditions in the elderly.

28 Dec 2011

UCL awarded 20M grant to establish The Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre

A new centre dedicated to the understanding and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases will be established at UCL following the award of a -20million grant from the Wolfson Foundation, it was announced today.

19 Dec 2011

UCL to establish new center for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

A new centre dedicated to the understanding and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases will be established at UCL following the award of a £20million grant from the Wolfson Foundation, it was announced today.

19 Dec 2011

Increased Sirt1 expression protects against neurodegeneration in HD mouse model

Treatment that increases brain levels of an important regulatory enzyme may slow the loss of brain cells that characterizes Huntington's disease (HD) and other neurodegenerative disorders.

19 Dec 2011

SIRT1 gene appears to delay onset of HD in mouse model

Working with genetically engineered mice, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that a gene (SIRT1) linked to slowing the aging process in cells also appears to dramatically delay the onset of Huntington's disease (HD) and slow the progression of the relentless neurodegenerative disorder.

19 Dec 2011

New drug candidate may halt mental decline of Alzheimer's

A new drug candidate may be the first capable of halting the devastating mental decline of Alzheimer's disease, based on the findings of a study published today in PLoS one.

15 Dec 2011

Dye derived from Canary Island lichens may help treat Alzheimer's disease

A red dye derived from lichens that has been used for centuries to color fabrics and food appears to reduce the abundance of small toxic protein aggregates in Alzheimer's disease. The dye, a compound called orcein, and a related substance, called O4, bind preferentially to small amyloid aggregates that are considered to be toxic and cause neuronal dysfunction and memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease.

3 Dec 2011

Einstein, Montefiore receive NINDS grant to establish clinical site for NeuroNEXT

In a development that could pave the way for treatment for rare neurological diseases and clues to more common ones, physician-scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein, have secured a grant to establish a clinical site for the Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials.

2 Dec 2011

Enrollment complete in Alnylam's ALN-RSV01 Phase IIb study for RSV infection

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has completed patient enrollment in its Phase IIb study with ALN-RSV01, an RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection.

29 Nov 2011

Dantrolene reduces severity of walking and balance problems linked with HD

Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by ongoing destruction of specific neurons within the brain. It affects a person's ability to walk, talk, and think - leading to involuntary movement and loss of muscle co-ordination. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Molecular Neurodegeneration shows that the RyanR inhibitor Dantrolene is able to reduce the severity of walking and balance problems in a mouse model of HD.

24 Nov 2011