Presynaptic dysfunction in Huntington's disease

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 488-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
José L. Rozas ◽  
Leonardo Gómez-Sánchez ◽  
Cristina Tomás-Zapico ◽  
José J. Lucas ◽  
Rafael Fernández-Chacón
Keyword(s):  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Neuronal Damage ◽  
Motor Dysfunction ◽  
Drosophila Model ◽  
Glutamine Repeat ◽  
Mutant Forms ◽  
The Relationship

HD (Huntington's disease) is produced by the expression of mutant forms of the protein htt (huntingtin) containing a pathologically expanded poly-glutamine repeat. For unknown reasons, in HD patients and HD mouse models, neurons from the striatum and cerebral cortex degenerate and lead to motor dysfunction and dementia. Synaptic transmission in those neurons becomes progressively altered during the course of the disease. However, the relationship between synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration in HD is not yet clear. Are there early specific functional synaptic changes preceding symptoms and neurodegeneration? What is the role of those changes in neuronal damage? Recent experiments in a Drosophila model of HD have showed that abnormally increased neurotransmitter release might be a leading cause of neurodegeneration. In the present review, we summarize recently described synaptic alterations in HD animal models and discuss potential underlying molecular mechanisms.

scholarly journals Determinants of functional disability in Huntington's disease: Role of cognitive and motor dysfunction

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1351-1358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Ross ◽  
Alex Pantelyat ◽  
Jane Kogan ◽  
Jason Brandt
Keyword(s):  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Functional Disability ◽  
Motor Dysfunction

scholarly journals Protective role of Engrailed in a Drosophila model of Huntington's disease

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (22) ◽  
pp. 3601-3616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Mugat ◽  
Marie-Laure Parmentier ◽  
Nathalie Bonneaud ◽  
Ho Yin Edwin Chan ◽  
Florence Maschat
Keyword(s):  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Drosophila Model

Corticostriatal signatures of schadenfreude: evidence from Huntington’s disease

2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Baez ◽  
Mariana Pino ◽  
Mildred Berrío ◽  
Hernando Santamaría-García ◽  
Lucas Sedeño ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Social Emotion ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Regional Brain Atrophy ◽  
Shed Light

Schadenfreude—pleasure at others’ misfortunes—is a multidetermined social emotion which involves reward processing, mentalising and perspective-taking abilities. Patients with Huntington’s disease (HD) exhibit reductions of this experience, suggesting a role of striatal degeneration in such impairment. However, no study has directly assessed the relationship between regional brain atrophy in HD and reduced schadenfreude. Here, we assessed whether grey matter (GM) atrophy in patients with HD correlates with ratings of schadenfreude. First, we compared the performance of 20 patients with HD and 23 controls on an experimental task designed to trigger schadenfreude and envy (another social emotion acting as a control condition). Second, we compared GM volume between groups. Third, we examined brain regions where atrophy might be associated with specific impairments in the patients. While both groups showed similar ratings of envy, patients with HD reported lower schadenfreude. The latter pattern was related to atrophy in regions of the reward system (ventral striatum) and the mentalising network (precuneus and superior parietal lobule). Our results shed light on the intertwining of reward and socioemotional processes in schadenfreude, while offering novel evidence about their neural correlates.

The Relationship Between Plasma Oxytocin and Executive Functioning in Huntington’s Disease: A Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Emily R. Fisher ◽  
Natalia P. Rocha ◽  
Diego A. Morales-Scheihing ◽  
Venugopal Reddy Venna ◽  
Erin E. Furr-Stimming ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Plasma Measurement ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Functioning Assessment

The role of oxytocin (OT) in social cognition of patients with Huntington’s disease (HD) has been studied, but its impact on executive functioning has not been explored yet. Healthy controls, premanifest HD, and manifest HD participants underwent executive functioning assessment and OT plasma measurement. There were no significant group differences in plasma OT levels. Higher OT levels were associated with better executive functioning in premanifest HD participants. Our findings revealed an association between OT levels and depressive symptoms in premanifest and manifest HD participants. The potential role of OT in HD deserves further investigation.

The Role of Melatonin in Multiple Sclerosis, Huntington's Disease and Cerebral Ischemia

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1096-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Begona Escribano ◽  
Ana Colin-Gonzalez ◽  
Abel Santamaria ◽  
Isaac Tunez
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Cerebral Ischemia ◽  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease

scholarly journals The Role of Pretraining on Skilled Forelimb Use in an Animal Model of Huntington's Disease

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Fricker-Gates ◽  
R. Smith ◽  
J. Muhith ◽  
S. B. Dunnett
Keyword(s):  
Animal Model ◽  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease

scholarly journals Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of Deutetrabenazine for Chorea in Huntington’s Disease: Results From the ARC-HD Open-label Study

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-165
Author(s):  
Samuel Frank ◽  
Claudia M. Testa ◽  
David Stamler ◽  
Elise Kayson ◽  
David Oakes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Study Drug ◽  
Motor Dysfunction ◽  
Open Label ◽  
Entire Treatment Period ◽  
End Of Treatment ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industries

AbstractBackgroundChorea is a prominent motor dysfunction in Huntington’s disease (HD). Deutetrabenazine, a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitor, is FDA-approved for the treatment of chorea in HD. In the pivotal, 12-week First-HD trial, deutetrabenazine treatment reduced the Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) total maximal chorea (TMC) score versus placebo. ARC-HD, an open-label extension study, evaluated long-term safety and efficacy of deutetrabenazine dosed in a response-driven manner for treatment of HD chorea.MethodsPatients who completed First-HD (Rollover) and patients who converted overnight from a stable dose of tetrabenazine (Switch) were included. Safety was assessed over the entire treatment period; exposure-adjusted incidence rates (EAIRs; adverse events [AEs] per person-year) were calculated. A stable, post-titration time point of 8 weeks was chosen for efficacy analyses.ResultsOf 119 patients enrolled (Rollover, n=82; Switch, n=37), 100 (84%) completed ≥1 year of treatment (mean [SD] follow-up, 119 [48] weeks). End of study EAIRs for patients in the Rollover and Switch cohorts, respectively, were: any AE, 2.6 and 4.3; serious AEs, 0.13 and 0.14; AEs leading to dose suspension, 0.05 and 0.04. Overall, 68% and 73% of patients in Rollover and Switch, respectively, experienced a study drug–related AE. Most common AEs possibly related to study drug were somnolence (17% Rollover; 27% Switch), depression (23%; 19%), anxiety (9%; 11%), insomnia (10%; 8%), and akathisia (9%; 14%). Rates of AEs of interest include suicidality (9%; 3%) and parkinsonism (6%; 11%). In both cohorts, mean UHDRS TMC score and total motor score (TMS) decreased from baseline to Week 8; mean (SD) change in TMC score (units) was –4.4 (3.1) and –2.1 (3.3) and change in TMS was –7.1 (7.3) and –2.4 (8.7) in Rollover and Switch, respectively. While receiving stable dosing from Week 8 to 132 (or end of treatment), patients showed minimal change in TMC score (0.9 [5.0]), but TMS increased compared to Week 8 (9.0 [11.3]). Upon drug withdrawal, there were no remarkable AEs and TMC scores increased 4.4 (3.7) units compared to end of treatment.ConclusionsThe type and severity of AEs observed in long-term deutetrabenazine exposure are consistent with the previous study. Efficacy in reducing chorea persisted over time. There was no unexpected worsening of HD or chorea associated with HD upon deutetrabenazine withdrawal.FundingTeva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Petach Tikva, Israel

scholarly journals A modular tool to query and inducibly disrupt biomolecular condensates

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen N. Hernández-Candia ◽  
Sarah Pearce ◽  
Chandra L. Tucker
Keyword(s):  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Cellular Function ◽  
Biological Role ◽  
Cellular Biology ◽  
Condensate Formation ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

AbstractDynamic membraneless compartments formed by protein condensates have multifunctional roles in cellular biology. Tools that inducibly trigger condensate formation have been useful for exploring their cellular function, however, there are few tools that provide inducible control over condensate disruption. To address this need we developed DisCo (Disassembly of Condensates), which relies on the use of chemical dimerizers to inducibly recruit a ligand to the condensate-forming protein, triggering condensate dissociation. We demonstrate use of DisCo to disrupt condensates of FUS, associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and to prevent formation of polyglutamine-containing huntingtin condensates, associated with Huntington’s disease. In addition, we combined DisCo with a tool to induce condensates with light, CRY2olig, achieving bidirectional control of condensate formation and disassembly using orthogonal inputs of light and rapamycin. Our results demonstrate a method to manipulate condensate states that will have broad utility, enabling better understanding of the biological role of condensates in health and disease.

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