First identified more than 125 years ago, is a condition that usually inhibits speech, movement, reasoning Huntington's diseaseand memory. This hereditary disorder is estimated to affect one out of 10,000 people. While current pharmacological treatments are able to address the symptoms of this disease, experts have not been able to stop the disease's progression.

It has been previously suggested that the severe neurodegeneration associated with Huntington's disease may result from molecular mutations that block the transport of nutrients within cells.

Recent research conducted at the Emory University School of Medicine indicate that the mutant hungtinton protein limits the efforts of the huntington-associated protein-1 (HAP1) to provide nutrients to growing neurons, or neurites. Neurites fail to develop and mature neurons degenerate without those nutrients.

These findings at Emory that appear in the May 31 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience are the latest of more than a decade of Huntington's disease-related discoveries. Headed by Xiao-Jiang Li, PhD (professor of human genetics at Emory University School of Medicine), the Emory research team are making a headway in the search for a cure.

Read more at Emory press release.