REVOLUTIONARY

Huntington’s Disease is Treated for the First Time in Gene Therapy Trial

The trial found a first treatment for one of the world’s more terrible diseases.

Huntington’s disease, a deadly degenerative illness, has been treated for the first time in a revolutionary gene therapy trial. The disease is a hereditary illness, typically appearing in adults in their 30s and 40s. The symptoms include mood swings, anger, depression, uncontrolled jerky movements, dementia, and paralysis. There has been no cure or way to minimize its progression. The trial concluded that the treatment had slowed the progression of Huntington’s disease by an average of 75 percent. Additionally, the medication helped protect neurons, resulting in fewer signs of cell death. Sara Tabrizi, director of the University College London’s Huntington’s disease centre, reports that the drug will help people work and live independently for longer. Tabrizi said, “We now have a treatment for one of the world’s more terrible diseases. This is absolutely huge. I’m really overjoyed.” There are 20,000 people in the U.K. who carry the gene, but only a fifth of those families conduct genetic testing. Tabrizi claims that these revolutionary developments in medication will prompt “more people to come forward for the genetic test because there’s a treatment.”