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Inflammation and Huntington's disease - a neglected therapeutic target?

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Field, Sophie E 
Curle, Annabel J 
Barker, Roger A 

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Huntington's Disease (HD) is a genetic neurodegenerative disease for which there is currently no disease-modifying treatment. One of several underlying mechanisms proposed to be involved in HD pathogenesis is inflammation; there is now accumulating evidence that the immune system may play an integral role in disease pathology and progression. As such, modulation of the immune system could be a potential therapeutic target for HD. AREAS COVERED: To date, the number of trials targeting immune aspects of HD has been limited. However, targeting it, may have great advantages over other therapeutic areas, given that many drugs already exist that have actions in this system coupled to the fact that inflammation can be measured both peripherally and, to some extent, centrally using CSF and PET imaging. In this review, we look at evidence that the immune system and the newly emerging area of the microbiome are altered in HD patients, and then present and discuss clinical trials that have targeted different parts of the immune system. EXPERT OPINION: We then conclude by discussing how this field might develop going forward, focusing on the role of imaging and other biomarkers to monitor central immune activation and response to novel treatments in HD.

Description

Keywords

Huntington’s disease, PET imaging, astrocytes, clinical trials, complement system, cytokines, immune system, microbiome, microglia, peripheral immune system, Huntington Disease, Humans, Animals, Inflammation, Biomarkers, Molecular Targeted Therapy, Disease Progression, Drug Development, Immune System, Microbiota

Journal Title

Expert Opin Investig Drugs

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1354-3784
1744-7658

Volume Title

Publisher

Informa UK Limited