We are excited about an upcoming HDSA research webinar this coming Tuesday, May 19th at 12 PM Eastern. This work, presented by Annexon Biosciences, was born out of studies conducted by HDSA Human Biology Fellow Dr. Daniel Wilton. Annexon is developing therapies to preserve connections between neurons in the HD brain. Dr. Enchi Liu, Vice President and Global Program Team Leader, and Dr. Sanjay Keswani, Chief Medical officer, will talk about Annexon’s work targeting a part of the immune system called the classical complement cascade, and how it could help to preserve synapses in HD. Register here to attend.
Watch Presentations from the 2020 HD Therapeutics Conference
Researchers from around the globe came together early this year for the 15th Annual HD Therapeutics Conference, held in February in Palm Springs, California. CHDI, the HD research foundation that hosts this conference, has now made all of the scientific presentations available to view online. The topics were carefully chosen and the speakers were excellent, but be aware that the talks were primarily for researchers. If you’re down to dive in, we can recommend a couple of specific ones that are more accessible:
· Dr. Sarah Tabrizi, leader of the Ionis huntingtin-lowering study that paved the way for the current Roche trial, is also working on an observational (no-drug) trial at University College London called the HD Young Adult Study.
· Dr. Swati Sathe, Medical Director at CHDI, presented a comprehensive picture of the Enroll-HD study and how it is contributing to global HD research.
HD Buzz: Role for Huntingtin in Nerve Repair
The latest news from our friends at HDBuzz reveals an unexpected role for the huntingtin protein in repairing damage after nerve injury. Huntingtin is important in the young, developing brain, and it turns out that huntingtin’s role in keeping neurons in a “youthful” state after they are damaged can also promote healing.
