Huntington's disease

The MIT biologist studies how RNA molecules self-assemble and the role these accumulations may play in diseases such as ALS and Huntington’s.

Maligned peptides such as the Alzheimer’s-associated amyloid precursor protein may have critical roles in the healthy brain.

The normal functions of peptides that aggregate in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s have been largely overlooked by scientists, but some argue that they are critical for understanding the development of disease.

Advancements in cryo-EM technology allow researchers to develop drugs and diagnostic tools for neurodegenerative diseases.

A sensitive, automated immunoassay measures neurofilament light from patient blood samples.

Conservation of structures and functions between single-celled fungi and human cells allow researchers to probe the brain.

Meet some of the people featured in the October 2021 issue of The Scientist.

The single-celled fungus allows researchers to study Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS and other brain diseases with unparalleled speed and scale.

The Cardiff University researcher was famous both for his work on genetic disorders and for his documentation of the history of his field.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham neuroscientist aims to determine which cells are most important in prompting the disease’s initiation and progression.

Flexible proteins appear to protect molecules from becoming denatured in extreme conditions such as heat and from clumping up, as happens in some neurodegenerative diseases.

New details of the molecular process by which our cells consume themselves point to therapeutic potential.

Researchers were able to slow tumor growth in a mouse model of human ovarian cancer. 

In human cells, researchers deploy the genome editor to snip out toxic repetitive sequences.

Researchers show that pathogenic protein aggregates that accumulate within neurons and are a hallmark of Huntington’s disease can propagate from cell to cell.

Rodent models of Huntington’s disease show dysfunctional cysteine production, and adding the amino acid to their diets seems to relieve symptoms.  

Swedish researchers have discovered that patients with the neurodegenerative disorder had half the normal expected risk of developing tumors.