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.

Chinese Huntington’s Disease Network launched

Published date: 21 December, 2011

Huntington’s disease is relatively rare. In western countries, estimates of the number of people with symptoms of HD are about 1 in 20,000 people. It’s been suggested that HD is even rarer in China, but of course China is a huge place. HDBuzz attended the launch of the new Chinese HD Network to learn whether ... Read more

HDAC inhibitor drug protects memory in HD mice

Published date: 13 December, 2011

Thinking skills and disordered control of gene switching are both problems in Huntington’s disease. Now Spanish researchers have linked the two, through a protein called CBP. And a ‘histone deacetylase inhibitor’ drug can prevent both problems in HD mice. Histones and all that Spend any time finding out about Huntington’s disease research, and it won’t ... Read more

Turning down the volume with dantrolene helps HD mice

Published date: 8 December, 2011

Calcium might make you think of bones and teeth, but tiny amounts of it are used to send messages in all cells. When these messages are garbled, cells can malfunction or or die. Too much calcium in cells might even contribute to Huntington’s disease. A team of scientists in Texas have shown that an anti-calcium ... Read more

TRACK-HD reveals changes in HD mutation carriers, empowering future trials

Published date: 5 December, 2011

The results of a two-year study of HD mutation carriers, called TRACK-HD, have just been released. These results prove that a number of changes, including thinking ability and brain changes, occur early in people carrying the HD mutation. Most importantly, these changes are suitable for use as endpoints in future clinical trials for drugs to ... Read more

Huntexil hits the headlines again

Published date: 22 November, 2011

The results of the MermaiHD trial of Huntexil for movement problems in HD have been published in the scientific journal Lancet Neurology. Despite conflicting media reports, this doesn’t change the need for a further trial before Huntexil can be approved for use in patients. Huntexil and movement problems Huntexil is the brand name of ACR16, ... Read more

New antibody reveals dangerous parts of huntingtin protein

Published date: 17 November, 2011

Antibodies, produced by the body’s immune system to fight off infection, can also be used by scientists to study proteins. A new antibody has provided new insights into what causes neurons to die in Huntington’s disease. From mutations to disease Huntington’s disease is caused by a mutation – a genetic stutter – in the huntingtin ... Read more

Safety trials add crucial piece to gene silencing jigsaw

Published date: 14 November, 2011

Gene silencing drugs aim to slow down or prevent Huntington’s disease by telling cells not to make the harmful protein. For the first time, a study has shown that gene silencing hits its target and is safe in the complex brains of rhesus monkeys. Gene silencing – the elevator pitch Ask a Huntington’s disease researcher ... Read more

Melatonin treatment success in HD mice

Published date: 31 October, 2011

Melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain, is available in pill form and used to treat sleeping disorders. New research suggests that it can slow down Huntington’s disease in model mice – great news, but it doesn’t mean everyone should rush to take it. Melatonin and the pineal gland Melatonin is ... Read more

HD World Congress 2011: a retrospective

Published date: 24 October, 2011

A growing, more unified worldwide HD community and a sense that we’re ready for a new era of Huntington’s disease clinical trials were two prominent messages at the recent World Congress on Huntington’s disease in Melbourne. Now the dust has settled, HDBuzz reflects on the meeting’s major themes. Breaking barriers Through our Oz Buzz feature, ... Read more

HDAC inhibitors and a possible 'blood biomarker'

Published date: 14 October, 2011

One way the Huntington’s disease gene causes damage is by interfering with the control of many other genes. HDAC inhibitors are drugs that aim to correct this, and researchers are working on bringing them to human trials. Meanwhile, the world of HDACs has produced an interesting lead in the search for biomarkers to help us ... Read more

1800 244 735

Research articles

HD Buzz

Westmead HD Outreach Service

Enroll-HD

Huntington’s Disease Network of Australia

Chinese Huntington’s Disease Network launched

HDAC inhibitor drug protects memory in HD mice

Turning down the volume with dantrolene helps HD mice

TRACK-HD reveals changes in HD mutation carriers, empowering future trials

Huntexil hits the headlines again

New antibody reveals dangerous parts of huntingtin protein

Safety trials add crucial piece to gene silencing jigsaw

Melatonin treatment success in HD mice

HD World Congress 2011: a retrospective

HDAC inhibitors and a possible 'blood biomarker'

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