New Discovery Regarding Huntington's Disease

Researchers have found a way to reduce the rate of degeneration of Huntington's disease in fruit flies by targeting a particular enzyme. Huntington's disease is a condition in which there is progressive loss of function and structure of neurons in the brain. End Quote

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (1888PressRelease) June 23, 2011 - Huntington's disease is a condition in which there is progressive loss of function and structure of neurons in the brain. It is a genetic disease that has a profound effect on the muscle coordination and in severe cases, can also lead to dementia.

Huntington's disease is more common in adults and is one of the leading causes of chorea. It is one of those incurable diseases that are being highly researched upon. Being of degenerative nature, there is no known cure for this condition, though doctors are still hoping for a break through. The latest in this has been that there could be a new way to approach this disease, as per tests done on fruit flies suggest.

Huntington's disease does not cause immediate death but it greatly hampers the quality of life that the person leads by impairing the person's ability to function.

The Study

As per reports, researchers, under controlled condition, were able to decrease the rate of degeneration of this disease in fruit flies by targeting a particular enzyme. Scientist and researches state that this is a crucial step as currently they do not have a drug that can halt progression or even decrease the onset.

The enzyme that was targeted is known as KMO. Decreasing the functioning of this enzyme decreased the number of neurons that were being affected in the fruit-flies. This study has brought to light some chemicals that could act on the target and also given the researchers a lead on the type of drug that needs to be developed so as to act on the target.

Another finding stated that certain other enzymes that were targeted improved the symptoms of this disease in fruit flies. Another study in the US performed on mice state that blocking the same enzyme in them could decrease the progression of this disease.

http://www.medexpressrx.com

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