Researchers find potential treatment for Huntington's disease

Courtesy EurekAlert! - Chemistry, Physics and Materials Sciences  Sat, 11/14/2009 - 23:00

(Burnham Institute) Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research, UBC and UCSD have found that normal synaptic activity in nerve cells protects the brain from the misfolded proteins associated with Huntington's disease.

They also found that the drug Memantine, which is approved to treat Alzheimer's disease, successfully treated Huntington's disease in a mouse model by preserving normal synaptic electrical activity and suppressing excessive extrasynaptic electrical activity.

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