Active clinical trials for "Huntington Disease"

Intro: Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the brain, inducing a dysfunction and death of the middle spiny striatal projection neurons and a progressive alteration of cognitive and motor functions, and psycho-behavioral problems. There is currently no curative treatment but we know hat a multidisciplinary care can optimize the functioning and the quality of life of the patients with Huntington's disease. A meta-analysis of 18studies indicates that exercise and physical activity can improve motor function, gait speed and balance, and would also improve self-confidence, independence, well-being, reduced apathy and better socialization with family and friends. Hypothesis/Objective The hypothesis is that the inclusion of a 4 week-program with Adapted Physical Activity (APA) during a rehabilitation stay will improve some motor, cognitive and psycho-behavioral abilities, compared to the control group. Method The patients will be randomized into two groups : The control group will have the "classic" program performed in the standard of care with: kinesitherapy, soft gym, medico-social workshop, cognitive workshop, creative workshop, individual care (rehabilitation, rest, and creation). The experimental APA group will have in addition of the classic program, 6 APA workshops per week with collective support : Adapted Physical workshops, adapted cycling, therapeutic (horseback/equestrian) riding, cultural or leisure outings, situation tests For the two groups, at the start of the 4 weeks of rehabilitation program an initial visit will be performed with, as part of this research, a clinical examination, a neurological examination, a dietary consultation, as well as a biological assessment as part of habitual care. The clinical examination, the neurological examination and the dietary consultation will be performed each week, during the 4 weeks of the program, At the end of the study, one month after the rehabilitation of the patient, a visit by phone-call will be performed for the patient and his caregiver.

This exploratory study will examine ways in which individuals approach a positive genetic test for Huntington Disease (HD). HD is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes emotional, cognitive, and movement problems, and currently there is no way to prevent, stop or reverse the progression of the disease. It is passed down through a mutation in a normal gene, and each child of an HD parent has a 50-50 chance of inheriting the HD gene. The study is designed to explore how individuals adjust to their new genetic status and evaluate any perceived mental or emotional barriers to that adjustment. Currently, little is known about how individuals come to terms with a positive genetic test result for a condition that has no known cure or effective treatment. The results of this study may give health care providers and counselors more information about how to help patients who are at risk for developing HD make sense of their new genetic status. Candidates will be prescreened and referred to the study by clinics that specialize in genetic testing and counseling. Candidates must be 18 years old or older and must have received a positive genetic test result for HD at least one month prior to the study. They must also perceive themselves to be asymptomatic-that is, without existing HD symptoms. During the study, participants will be interviewed and asked a series of questions about their decision to pursue testing, their life since the testing, and the things that they have found helpful or unhelpful since receiving the test results. The interviews will be recorded and will last approximately 60 minutes. Participants also will receive a follow-up phone call within two to three days to ensure their general psychological well-being after the interview.

This study will examine the ways in which people reveal their status as a carrier of Huntington s disease (HD) or of being at risk for the disease. It will explore factors that influence decisions about disclosure and how disclosure is made to family members, partners, and close friends. HD is an inherited, progressive disease. It causes nerve degeneration, motor disturbance, loss of awareness, and psychiatric symptoms. Currently, no effective treatment is available to prevent or delay HD progression. The mean age of onset is 35 to 44 years, and the median survival rate after onset is 15 to 18 years. HD affects about 1 in 10,000 people in the United States, so about 30,000 have HD and more than 200,000 are at risk. Predictive testing for HD has been available since 1993. It can be a life-changing event to learn of being at risk for HD. Disclosure has been studied among people with HD and other diseases, but knowledge about the extent of nondisclosure and disclosure is limited. There is evidence that a person s psychological adaptation to AD may be a factor. Adaptation involves processes that help a person search for meaning in what has happened, attempt to gain control of his or her life, and improve self-esteem in light of the threatening situation. Participants ages 18 and older who have had a positive genetic test result more than 6 months earlier regarding HD or who have a family history of HD but no predictive testing and who do not have symptoms of HD may be eligible for this study. Recruitment is done through HD clinics, support groups, and online websites and mailing listservs. About 260 people will be in the study. Participants will complete a survey taking 30 to 40 minutes to do. Two survey versions are available: for those who are gene carriers and for those at risk. Participants are asked to complete the version applying to them. The survey can be done online or through a hard copy to complete at home and send to NIH. This survey is anonymous. Participants will list the adults with whom they have a relationship and up to 10 people they interact with. They will indicate those who know about the HD gene or risk status. They will also list those to whom they have personally made disclosure. The goal is to distinguish if knowing the status or the act of disclosure is more important. Questions also involve discussing the inheritance and features of HD, and participants feelings or concerns about HD gene or risk status. Participants will be asked about their first disclosure experience, most recent experience of it, and timing of disclosure the time between learning of HD status and telling another person about it. There are also questions on decisions of nondisclosure, negative and positive aspects of disclosure for participants, and what health care professionals can do to help participants disclosure decisions.

The hypotheses of the project are Diffusion MRI using compressed sensing could have reduced motion sensitivity and improved susceptibility related artifact because of accelerated acquisition. The macromolecule deposition in the brain of patients with Huntington Disease (HD) can lead to changes detectible by diffusion MRI. To validate the hypothesis that the new accelerated diffusion MRI technique could produce a new biomarker for HD, patients with Huntington Disease will be recruited. The diffusion index will be calculated using accelerated acquisition. The diagnostic performance will be evaluated for data reconstructed with and without acceleration. The correlation with the disease severity will be assessed.

According to above basic findings, it is important to confirm those results in clinic. In this branch, the investigators will use patient control analgesic (PCA) device to investigate the consumption of morphine for patients undergoing hepatic surgery. Preoperative and postoperative (before and after surgery) blood will be sampling (15cc/time) and y liver tissue (10mm3) will be harvested to measure the expression of above molecules (TM, IL-20, HD). Pain questionnaire will also be applied to evaluate their pain control quality. Certainly, the morphine consumption and results from pain questionnaire will be correlated with the molecule amount to figure out possible relationship between morphine consumption and those molecules. Patients undergoing abdominal surgery and using morphine pain control analgesia (PCA) device will be involved. Pre- and Post- operative (after anesthesia and at the end of surgery) blood sampling (total 30 ml) plus normal liver tissue (10mm3) e will be harvested. Above protein(TM, IL-20, HD) amount change will be measured (ELISA for TM, IL-20 (serum) or flowcytometry (white cells) for TM, HD, IL-20 expression, stain or blotting for skin tissue). Patients will be included in this branch to check the correlation between morphine consumption and protein expression. Pain questionnaire (BPI, McGill) will be applied for pain evaluation. 2-D gel analysis will also be applied to screen further possible molecules. Specific aims To investigate the correlation of morphine consumption and the serum amount of IL-20, TM or HD To investigate the relationship between IL-20, TM, HD amount in liver tissue and morphine consumption

The primary objective of this study was to establish the absolute reduction of chorea in participants with Huntington's disease(HD) treated with tetrabenazine or placebo

Huntington's disease (HD) is a rare inherited neurodegenerative disorder, progressing between 15 and 20 years and affecting one person out of 10.000. In France, it concerns some 6.000 patients symptomatic and 12 000 asymptomatic carriers. Few extensive researches have been conducted on the progression of the disease, which is defined in the literature in 5 stages in a functional approach. Therapeutically, no cure for HD is currently validated but only symptomatic treatments. There's various treatment options: medicated, humans (physiotherapy, speech therapist, occupational therapist, ..). Although these treatment options do not prevent the progression of the disease, their combination associated with a stimulating environment may slow the decline of physical, intellectual and psychic abilities of patients. In social terms, patients with HD require sustained support, especially in cases of family isolation. The behavioural, gaiting and eating disorder as well as the communications difficulties make it difficult support daily for the entourage. The caregivers are sometimes dealing with untenable situations. Home care services, which are crucial to alleviating dependency, relieve family caregivers but are for the most severe patient. Moreover, the justified placement decision in an institution generates a feeling of guilt for the family. The caregiver is the person who brings non-professional assistance , partly or wholly , to a dependent member of his entourage , for the activities of daily living. This regular care may be provided permanently or not. It can take many forms, such as , care , nursing , support to education and social life , administrative procedures , psychological support . Caregivers have their lives profoundly reshaped. They are often forced to give up some of their habits , give up their future plans , change their relationships. The commitment of caregivers with patients with Huntington's disease actually sounds on their mental and physical health, as well as their social and professional life Very few studies have been conducted to measure the difficulties and implications of these caregivers.

This observational study will establish a clinical baseline and measure changes over time in movement, thinking, behavior, brain imaging, blood and spinal fluid markers in subjects with early stage Huntington's disease. Participants enrolled in this study may be eligible to participate in a future planned study of stem cell therapy for Huntington's Disease (HD). In-person study visits occur at screening, baseline, and every 6 months thereafter for a minimum of 12 months, with interim phone call assessments.

The main goal of the GENEPARK consortium is to employ innovative haemogenomic approaches to determine gene expression profiles specific for genetic and idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. These gene expression signatures will be utilised clinically as non-invasive diagnostic tests for PD. The sensitivity of the newly developed diagnostic test will be determined by extensive validations on an independent cohort of PD patients, whereas the specificity will be assessed by testing patients with atypical parkinsonisms, including multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy and diffuse Lewy body disease. In order to test the specificity of the diagnostic set in other disorders that affect basal ganglia, Huntington's disease and dopa responsive dystonia patients will be analysed. The second objective of the proposal is to determine correlations between gene expression signatures and different stages of PD and thus provide the basis for early diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression. These changes in blood gene expression will be correlated with alterations detected by neuroimaging in the brain of PD patients. Such combinations of molecular and morphological markers of disease may ultimately facilitate the selection and monitoring of neuroprotective therapies for PD. Finally, GENEPARK aims to develop new bioinformatic software tools for selection of genomic biomarkers using microarray data. A set of established computational tools will be applied and novel methods, some of them based on mechanistic modelling of the neurodegenerative diseases, will be developed in order to study the advantages and limitations of the different methodologies. With special emphasis on the careful clinical selection of patients and sufficient power regarding patient numbers, as well as extensive quality control and validation of the data, GENEPARK aims to develop a standardised approach to development and validation of haemogenomic biomarkers of disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic progressive fatal neurodegenerative disorder. In the western world it affects 5-10 persons per 100000. The main brain changes include the loss of brain cells in subcortical structures. The symptoms of HD include involuntary movements, cognitive deterioration and behavioural disturbances. It has been shown that changes in emotion comprehension occur before the onset of the motor symptoms (preHD). This deficit in perception of emotions has been primarily investigated by means of facial expressions. However, emotions can also be expressed through body language. Here, the investigators propose to investigate whether the emotion comprehension deficit in preHD also includes body language comprehension.