Clinical progression and pathologic correlates of Huntington's disease

这是一个从分子到临床的亨廷顿病研究的综合项目。其中一个项目涉及一项对HD患者和相关表型的纵向临床研究，这些患者来自一组来自流行病学样本的特征良好的家族。 第二个项目使用结构和功能成像进行脑萎缩和功能障碍的纵向测量，特别关注早期HD和症状前基因阳性个体。 第三个项目涉及HD发病机制的生物化学和细胞生物学研究，重点是亨廷顿蛋白的潜在蛋白水解裂解，亨廷顿蛋白相关蛋白的可能参与，以及使用细胞模型来了解细胞死亡的途径和开发治疗干预措施。 第四个项目将使用我们的HD转基因小鼠模型的药理学和遗传操作，以确定改善表型的可能方法。 这些项目由四个核心支助。 一个核心提供行政和统计支助。 第二个核心为患者提供检查、诊断和纵向随访。 第三个核心提供神经病理学检查，诊断和研究组织。 第四个核心提供基因测试和鉴定有助于表型的遗传变异。 总体而言，该计划的目标是更好地了解HD的分子和细胞发病机制，并开发和测试新的治疗方法。

This is an integrative program of Huntington's disease research ranging from the molecular to the clinical. One project involves a longitudinal clinical study of patients with HD and related phenotypes from a set of well characterized families deriving from an epidemiologic sample. A second project uses structural and functional imaging for longitudinal measurement of cerebral atrophy and dysfunction with a special interest in early HD and pre-symptomatic gene positive individuals. A third project involves biochemical and cell biologic studies of the pathogenesis of HD, focusing on the potential proteolytic cleavage of huntingtin, the possible involvement of huntingtin associated proteins, and the use of cell models to understand pathways of cell death and develop therapeutic interventions. A fourth project will use pharmacologic and genetic manipulations of our HD transgenic mouse model to determine possible means of ameliorating the phenotype. These projects are supported by four cores. One core provides administrative and statistical support. A second core provides examination, diagnosis and longitudinal follow up of patients. A third core provides neuropathologic examination, diagnosis, and tissue for research. A forth core provides genetic testing and identification of genetic variants which contribute to phenotypes. Overall, the goal of the program is to better understand the molecular and cellular pathogenesis of HD, and develop and test new therapeutic approaches.