Summary
- Brain Donation Awareness Day
- Mental Health Awareness Month
- 2024 CHDI Therapeutics Conference Presentations Now Available Online!
Brain Donation Awareness Day
HD is frequently studied in animal models that reveal important information about the disease, but humans are the only species to naturally develop HD. This means that studying HD as it occurs in people is critical for understanding the basic biology of the disease and finding drugs to treat it. Brain donation is one invaluable contribution that individuals affected by HD can make toward furthering HD science. In celebration of Brain Donation Awareness day, which occurs every year on May 7th, the most recent article from HDBuzz discusses the impacts of this amazing gift to HD science. Read the full article here, or learn more about brain donation for HD research and how to get involved here.
Mental Health Awareness Month
While we raise awareness for HD in our communities for HD Awareness Month, it’s important to also remember that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Conversations about mental health and HD go hand-in-hand; navigating HD is complex for everyone it affects. Mental health and psychiatric symptoms can pose ongoing challenges for people with HD, but, support needs for the HD community are not limited to those with a diagnosis. The unique experiences of care partners, individuals at-risk for HD, gene-negative family members, and loved ones of people with HD are important parts of the conversation around mental health in HD, too. While we await treatments and cures to change the trajectory of HD, it’s important that all members of the HD community are supported in their journey with the disease. Learn more about HDSA’s support services on our website, find a social worker near you here, or access HDSA’s free TeleHealth counseling services here.
2024 CHDI Therapeutics Conference Presentations Now Available Online!
This past February, HD researchers, clinicians, and industry professionals from across the globe gathered in Palm Springs, CA, for the CHDI Therapeutics Conference. Access recordings of all conference sessions online via CHDI’s website, here. These sessions get technical, and are geared mostly toward scientists, but HD Buzz gave us a lay-language play by play of major highlights from conference days one, two, and three, available on their website.
