UBC research aims to move closer to cure for Huntington’s disease

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – From loss of coordination, to dementia, the effects of Huntington’s disease can be devastating, but researchers at UBC hope work they’ve done will bring us one step closer to a cure.

The researchers studied the DNA around the Huntington’s gene, and found there’s a variant — something that’s different from person to person.

“This has some really important impacts, because it turns out the presence of this variant is part of the explanation of why some people get the disease and more severely, and some people get it later in life,” says Dr. Blair Leavitt. “Basically it depends on which copy of the gene this variant is on. There’s a normal gene and an affected gene. If it’s on the normal gene, then it means you have less of the normal protein, and that’s bad. And if it’s on the abnormal gene, then you have less of the abnormal gene, that’s good.”

Leavitt says now that the variant has been identified, there are methods for turning that gene down, reducing or eliminating the effects of the disorder.

“There are approaches now that allow us to turn genes off, called gene silencing,” says Leavitt. “This work we did identifying this genetic change, this genetic modifier, is sort of a proof that if you can turn down the gene, you make a difference to the disease.

He says drugs in development that aim to silence the gene will undergo trials later this year.