Research articles

Click on this link to read our latest research articles.

Click on this link to find out more about Huntington’s NSW ACT Research grant opportunities.

HD Buzz

HDBuzz is a collaboration of scientists who write Huntington’s disease research news in plain language for the global HD community. They have allowed us to retrieve their articles for the NSW ACT Huntington’s community.

Westmead HD Outreach Service

The Outreach Service is part of a multidisciplinary team of medical, nursing and allied health services which provides review, intervention, treatment, case management, counselling, support, education and management of problems and issues associated with Huntington’s for patients, their families and carers. In addition to this care, the service has been involved in local and major international research studies since its establishment at Westmead Hospital in 1995. Hundreds of volunteers have generously participated in research to better understand the disease and in the search for effective treatments.

Westmead Hospital is a HSG Credential Research Site. Professor Clement Loy is the Principal Investigator for this site.

Global research collaboration

The Huntington Study Group (HSG) is the world’s first HD cooperative therapeutic research organization. Today, HSG is a world leader in facilitating high quality clinical research trials and studies that bring us closer to finding more effective treatments for HD and reducing the burden of HD for families affected by the disease.

HSG is an organization of compassionate professionals dedicated to finding treatments that make a difference, providing rigorous care initiatives, and improving the quality of life and outcomes for HD families. They bring together families, medical professionals, clinical researchers, HD advocacy groups, and sponsors to raise awareness of HD, share knowledge and best practices, and develop innovative treatments.

Enroll-HD

Enroll-HD is a clinical research platform and the world’s largest observational study for Huntington’s disease families. It is a resource for the entire HD community, including families, clinicians, researchers, advocates, and anyone else who has a connection to or an interest in HD.

Huntington’s Disease Network of Australia

The Huntington’s Disease Network of Australia (HDNA) is a project conceived by Professor Julie Stout of Monash University. Formed in 2020 to coordinate efforts that enhance care and services for HD and prepare for the advent of new HD treatments. The Map-HD Registry is for people in Australia who are affected by HD. All family members or people affected by HD are encouraged to register, whether or not they are at risk themselves.

The 'N17' region of huntingtin protein: an address label in Huntington's disease?

Published date: 26 February, 2013

New research is helping understand how the mutant huntingtin protein moves around the cell. Discovering where huntingtin ends up, and why, could help us understand HD. Now, Canadian researchers have shown that a small piece of the huntingtin protein behaves like an ‘address label’ for the whole protein. By studying this label and how it ... Read more

HDBuzz Special Feature: Huntington's disease and sleep

Published date: 6 February, 2013

Many Huntington’s disease patients have problems with sleep and in the control of daily or ‘circadian’ rhythms. These problems may actually be part of the range of symptoms in HD, and managing or treating them directly may be beneficial. In this special HDBuzz feature, sleep expert Prof Jenny Morton looks at the science behind sleep ... Read more

The University of New Orleans has NOT discovered a cure for Huntington's disease

Published date: 28 January, 2013

A recent press release from the University of New Orleans (UNO) claims its researchers have discovered a “way to delay symptoms of deadly Huntington’s disease”. Music to the ears of HD family members everywhere. But does the science live up to the hype? The short answer, sadly, is no. The science The science behind the ... Read more

Gone fishing: protein network screen identifies new therapeutic targets in Huntington's disease

Published date: 18 January, 2013

The mutant huntingtin protein doesn’t do damage in isolation – all proteins work in connected networks. Researchers at the California Buck Institute for Research on Aging have conducted a large-scale screen to identify protein networks that may be acting to relieve or worsen the harmful effects of the Huntington’s disease mutation. Could manipulating these networks ... Read more

Prana Biotech publishes Huntington's disease animal model data for PBT2

Published date: 14 January, 2013

The Huntington Study Group and Prana Biotechnology are currently running a clinical trial, Reach2HD, to determine whether the drug PBT2 is effective in HD patients. Now, they’ve released the preclinical data behind the trial, showing the drug is effective in two animal models of HD. History of PBT2 Many Huntington’s disease families have been excited ... Read more

'Guard dog' proteins reveal surprising connections between Huntington's disease and other brain disorders

Published date: 10 January, 2013

DNA/RNA-binding proteins, a fancy type of protein that ‘guards’ the genetic instructions running brain cells, are known to be important in diseases like Alzheimer’s and motor neuron disease. New research suggests that these proteins could be key players – and lead to new treatment options – in Huntington’s disease as well. A familiar theme: death ... Read more

Dyeing to prevent dying? Methylene blue beneficial in Huntington's disease mice

Published date: 8 January, 2013

One of the hallmarks of Huntington’s disease is the formation of protein clumps in brain cells. It’s not clear whether these protein bunches cause disease, but treatment with a blue dye that disrupts the clumps has now been shown to delay symptom onset in an HD mouse model. So what’s next for this drug that ... Read more

Prominent Huntington's disease researcher "fabricated data" in grant applications

Published date: 6 January, 2013

The National Institute for Health’s Office for Research Integrity has ruled that Huntington’s disease researcher Dr Paul Muchowski, formerly of the Gladstone Institutes at University of California San Francisco, committed “research misconduct by falsifying and fabricating data” in several applications for funding. What does this mean for Muchowski’s published HD therapies research? The National Institute ... Read more

Calming down the immune system helps Huntington's disease mice

Published date: 22 December, 2012

The immune system is thought to behave abnormally in Huntington’s disease. Now, a drug that activates CB2 receptors on immune cells has been shown to improve symptoms and survival in HD mice – with interesting implications for the immune system as a target for HD therapies. The immune system in HD Huntington’s disease is called ... Read more

Targeting oxidative stress in Huntington's Disease

Published date: 3 December, 2012

Some Huntington’s disease researchers believe that drugs protecting against ‘oxidative damage’ could help HD patients. Existing drugs come with some problems, so a team of scientists have tested a new drug in a mouse model of HD, with encouraging early results. Mitochondria and oxidative stress All cells in the body require energy to work. We ... Read more

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Research articles

HD Buzz

Westmead HD Outreach Service

Enroll-HD

Huntington’s Disease Network of Australia

The 'N17' region of huntingtin protein: an address label in Huntington's disease?

HDBuzz Special Feature: Huntington's disease and sleep

The University of New Orleans has NOT discovered a cure for Huntington's disease

Gone fishing: protein network screen identifies new therapeutic targets in Huntington's disease

Prana Biotech publishes Huntington's disease animal model data for PBT2

'Guard dog' proteins reveal surprising connections between Huntington's disease and other brain disorders

Dyeing to prevent dying? Methylene blue beneficial in Huntington's disease mice

Prominent Huntington's disease researcher "fabricated data" in grant applications

Calming down the immune system helps Huntington's disease mice

Targeting oxidative stress in Huntington's Disease

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