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| Robert Bishop Introduction HD family tree Why I do this Family photos What is HD? Definition The HD secret How many have HD The cruelest illness The HD nightmare My experience Other experiences HD research Hope for a cure North America How can I help? Make a donation Contact the media Ask legislators... News & events Articles & stories I need your help Contact info CureHD Foundation CureHD sponsors HD web sites Other info Content © 1999-2006 |
There is HOPE for a cure... There are two basic approaches to HD research (each migrating towards the other). The first approach is an effort to find out how the brain cell dies. Once this is known, scientists believe they can develop therapies to block or neutralize the effects of the mutant protein created by the defective gene. Most HD research is done at this level. The second approach investigates how to rescue a dying cell (bypassing the need to know exactly how the cell dies in the first place). For example, there are hundreds of thousands of existing drug compounds (owned by large pharmaceutical companies) that could be examined. Despite the lack of research funds, almost ten years ago scientists located the gene which causes HD and believe they are closing in on the cause of cell death. In fact, scientists are somewhat bullish about their ability to find a cure. Here's what one HD scientist in Italy wrote:
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