Discovery of new mechanism of brain cell injury in Huntington’s disease offers new approaches to treatment

Scientists at the Brain Research Centre and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics have uncovered a key cellular mechanism that alters brain cell function in Huntington’s disease, and identified a possible treatment for the disease.

The results of the study were published online in the January 28 edition of the journal Neuron.

Media Release:  Discovery of new mechanism of brain cell injury in Huntington’s disease offers new approaches to treatment.

Neuron Jan 2010 article:  Early Increase in Extrasynaptic NMDA Receptor Signaling and Expression Contributes to Phenotype Onset in Huntington’s Disease Mice.

Harvard Brain Bank Video

From National Geographic

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/science/health-human-body-sci/human-body/brain-bank-sci.html

Huntington Study Group trials

Clinical trials at the University of Calgary Movement Disorders Clinic

2CARE - Coenzyme Q10 in Huntington Disease

A multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ) in individuals with Huntington disease (HD) to assess the effects of CoQ on the progression of functional decline in HD, as well as the long-term safety and tolerability at the dosage studied.

COHORT - Cooperative Huntington’s Observational Research Trial (COHORT)

This long-term observational study will initially take place at  North American and Australian Huntington Study Group (HSG) sites.  The goal of COHORT is to collect information in order to learn more about HD, potential treatments, and to plan future research studies of experimental drugs aimed at postponing the onset or slowing the progression of HD.

CREST-E

A clinical trial to study the effects of creatine monohydrate in persons 18 years of age and older who have clinical features of Huntington’s Disease (HD).

PHAROS - Prospective Huntington At Risk Observational Study

PHAROS completed enrollment of 1001 research participants in January 2004. The study is expected to conclude in 2010.

PREDICT-HD 2.0

The ultimate goal of the PREDICT-HD 2.0 study is to define the earliest biological and clinical features of HD before at-risk individuals have diagnosable symptoms of the disease. Completion of this research will make it possible to test possible treatments to delay or prevent the onset of HD. It is a study that is expected to give us essential information to help design future studies of experimental drugs aimed at slowing or postponing the onset of HD in healthy persons at risk for developing HD.

For further info, follow the links above or contact the Movement Disorders Clinic http://www.ucalgary.ca/dcns/divisions/neurology/programs/md.

An Afternoon with MIT’s Brains on Brains

Online videos from MIT World.

Plenary Speakers

• The Autistic Neuron – Mark Bear
• Alzheimer’s Disease: Current State and Hope for the Future – Li-Huei Tsai
• New Frontiers in Psychiatric Disorders Research – Edward Scolnick

All plenary sessions are available for viewing through MIT World, including a
welcoming address by MIT President, Susan Hockfield, and an overview of
brain disorders by BCS Department Head, Mriganka Sur. These video
presentations were made possible by CIGNA.

Break-out Sessions with Faculty Panels

• Developmental Disorders and Diseases – Moderator: Mriganka Sur.  Nancy Kanwisher, Yingxi Lin, J. Troy Littleton, Elly Nedivi, Rebecca Saxe
• The Diseases of Aging - Moderator: John Gabrieli.  Emilio Bizzi, Thomas Byrne, Suzanne Corkin, Leonard Guarente, Carlos Lois
• Psychiatric Disorders and Diseases – Moderator: Robert Desimone.  Ki Goosens, Earl Miller, Christopher Moore, Pamela Sklar, Li-Huei Tsai

http://mit.edu/bcs/brains/

MIT World is a free and open site that provides on demand video of significant public events at MIT.  MIT World’s video index contains more than 600 videos.

http://mitworld.mit.edu/series/view/145

2010/05/22 HOPE Walk/Run/Wheel Event

Mark the date on your calendar.

Saturday May 22, 2010 at 9 am
North Glenmore Park, Snowy Owl site

This is the second annual event and is sure to be an even bigger success this year.

More details to follow on this website and on The Running Room website.

2010/02/11 Chapter HD Support Group

Purpose

1. To build connections with others who are challenged with Huntington Disease personally or in their family.
2. To explore effective coping strategies, accepting changes and limitations of HD, to grieve losses and build courage and resilience.

Who can attend

• Participants must have a diagnosis of Huntington Disease or have a family member with HD.
• Participants are encouraged to participate, recognizing that the facilitator will guide the process of overall discussion.

When

Thursday February 11, 2010 at 7 pm

Where

Abbeydale Christian Fellowship Church
This small church at the far east end of Memorial Drive is graciously giving us space for a nominal fee.

1352 Abbeydale Dr. SE

Directions:

At the end of Memorial Drive turn right for a partial block and look for the church beside the larger church on your left.  Enter at front door.  If locked, ring buzzer or call Karl at (403) 801-3459.

Process

At our first meeting, we will determine how frequently to meet and what topics are of interest to participants.  We may want to invite guest speakers to talk about speech therapy, relaxation exercises, music therapy, massage therapy or other topics of interest.  More importantly, however, is for everyone to be able to express stories of their own journey in ways that encourage everyone and give hope and determination to make the best of each day.  Light refreshments will be served.

To sign up

Call or email facilitator

Karl Lottes, MA RSW
Resource Centre Director
Huntington Society of Canada
(403) 230-6966
klottes@huntingtonsociety.ca

Printable flyer

Chapter HD Support Group 20100211

2010/02/08-11 5th Annual HD Therapeutics Conference

CHDI is delighted to announce that our 5th Annual Conference on HD Therapeutics will be held February 8-11, 2010, in Palm Springs, California. The conference program is currently being planned and will cover all aspects of drug discovery related to Huntington’s disease. Sessions will include:

• Clinical Discovery: How Studies in HD Patients Can Inform Preclinical HD Research
• Emerging Topics in Early HD Drug Discovery
• In Vivo HD Models: Beyond the Rotarod
• Understanding Huntingtin Function to Enable Drug Discovery
• Exploring the Late Stage Portfolio: Challenges and Hurdles Associated with Multiple Modalities

AND ADDITIONALLY THIS YEAR…

…a day long clinical workshop entitled “Engaging the Field: New Clinical Approaches to Disease Modification in HD.” The workshop will be held prior to the start of the HD Therapeutics Conference on Monday, February 8.

• Individuals and teams responsible for clinical development plans for HD
• Investigators involved in HD clinical trials
• HD clinicians who want to learn about promising new therapeutic approaches under consideration

• Anyone interested in exploring the latest approaches to HD disease modification from a clinical, scientific and regulatory perspective

Included will be presentations on disease modeling and a critical look at biomarkers and endpoints for measuring disease modification. The workshop will also explore clinical issues particular to upcoming trials of antisense oligonucleotides and RNAi therapies. Breakout sessions for small groups will work on solutions to some of the critical questions facing clinical development programs focused on HD disease modification.

http://www.highqfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=75

Upcoming event reminders

Volunteer or simply enjoy yourself.  Either way, get connected to the local community.

• Southern Alberta Chapter Family Fun Event
  Friday January 29, 2010
  http://curehd.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/20100129-family-fun-event/

• Rotary Club Calgary Olympic – Achieve Black & White Gala
  Saturday, February 27, 2010
  http://curehd.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/20100227-achieve-black-and-white-gala/

CHDI HD Research Crossroads website

CHDI launched this website at the World Congress last year…

HD Research Crossroads is a place for the Huntington’s disease research community to exchange ideas and information and get updated about HD drug discovery efforts.

CHDI Foundation, Inc. developed this web-based tool to facilitate the flow of important ideas and information about Huntington’s disease research and development across the entire community. Eventually this platform will allow us and others to share what we know about mechanisms, compounds, and project progression. While we have big plans for HD Research CrossRoads, we decided to get started with a small and defined mandate. To that end, the initial release of HD Research CrossRoads will focus on target validation. Sign up, start using it and stay tuned for more…

http://www.hdresearchcrossroads.org/

CHDI is a private, not-for-profit research organization. We work with an international network of scientists to discover drugs that slow the progression or delay the onset of Huntington’s disease (HD).

We seek to accelerate scientific progress by serving as a collaborative enabler. We encourage and support cooperation and collaboration among HD researchers. Our strategy is to encourage researchers to develop practical ideas, useful research materials, and powerful technologies, often by providing financial support.

Our activities extend from exploratory biology to the identification and validation of therapeutic targets, and from drug discovery and development to clinical studies and trials.

CHDI’s goal is to increase the understanding of Huntington’s disease (HD) and to hasten the development of therapies.We collaborate with academic and industrial scientists throughout the world.

http://www.highqfoundation.org/index.php

2010/01/29 Family Fun Event

Southern Alberta Chapter Family Fun Event

6:30 pm - Friday January 29, 2010

Please RSVP to Karl at (403) 230-6966 to reserve your spot.  We want to know how many are coming to make sure we have enough food.  Thanks.

• watch Mr Bean’s Holiday - laughter is good medicine
• connect with people you know
• make new friends
• hear about upcoming chapter activities and events and give input
• enjoy some pizza, soft drinks and juice

Abbeydale Christian Fellowship Church

1352 Abbeydale Dr. SE

Directions:

Drive to furthest point on Memorial Dr.
Turn right (south) a half block.
Location:  beside the large church.

If you are lost, call Karl at (403) 801-3459

Mr. Bean's Holiday