Scientists Edge Closer to Cause of Huntington's Disease

A new study, headed by Peggy Nopoulos, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at the University of Iowa, indicates that Huntington’s disease may be caused by abnormal brain development.

‘The study included 48 subjects. Twenty-four had preclinical Huntington's disease—that is, they were known to possess the huntingtin gene variant that causes Huntington's disease, but had not yet started exhibiting the motor symptoms of the disease, which is a criterion for clinical diagnosis of Huntington's. The other 24 were matched, healthy control subjects.

Nopoulos and her colleagues used magnetic resonance imaging to scan the cerebral cortex surface of all 48 subjects. They found that the volume of the cerebral cortex was significantly larger in the pre-Huntington's group than in the control group. Also, the surface anatomy of the cerebral cortex—that is, its gyri and sulci—was strikingly different in the two groups.’

Read the whole article here.

Angelo Abela – Psychiatric Nurse