Nat biotechnol: new research helps drug development for Huntington's

September 18, 2019 / BIOON / -- Huntington's disease is a genetic disease with slow onset, which usually occurs after middle age But new research suggests that for people with Huntington's, some changes in the brain may occur long before symptoms appear In a recent study, scientists from Rockefeller used new technology to trace the development of the disease back to the early stages of brain formation (photo source: www Pixabay Com) Professor Ali brivanlou's laboratory has developed a brain organ model composed of micro glial three-dimensional tissue culture The researchers used human embryonic stem cells to make these models, and operated them in a laboratory environment to study the pathogenesis of developmental diseases Previous studies have shown that Huntington's disease is accompanied by pathological changes in young neurons, and in this latest study, the authors further traced the development time to the stage of brain development When researchers introduced mutations known to cause Huntington's disease into the glia, the structure of the entire brain model changed significantly Further, researchers used the first mock exam to screen for the drugs that prevent these abnormalities They hope this method can find strong alternative therapies "This technology opens up new doors for determining the mechanisms that control brain development, understanding how their abnormal changes lead to disease and developing related drugs," brivanlou said Sources of information: clues to the origin of Huntington's disease, and a new way to find drugs Original sources: Tomomi haremaki, Jakob J Metzger, Tiago Rito, M zeeshan ozaar, Fred eTOC, Ali H bridlou Self organizing neuroids model development aspects of Huntington's disease in the ectoral composition Nature Biotechnology, 2019; DOI: 10.1038/s41587-019-0237-5