Unravelling the role of huntingtin: from neurodevelopment to neurodegeneration

No Evidence of Early Developmental Delay in Juvenile-Onset Huntington's Disease Patients

BACKGROUND

Previous studies suggest that early developmental delay is a common feature of Juvenile-Onset Huntington's disease (JOHD), with highest incidence in those with very high CAG repeats (> 80). However, all reports of developmental delay in JOHD are exclusively based on retrospective review of medical charts. Comprehensive assessment of birth history metrics may provide better insight into the question of early life development in JOHD.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the prevalence of prematurity, birth complications, low birth weight and developmental delay in patients with JOHD in comparison to control participants.

METHODS

Parents of patients with JOHD and gene-non-expanded (GNE) control participants from Kids-HD (n = 104) and Kids-JOHD (n = 34, 24% with CAG > 80) studies completed a comprehensive birth history questionnaire. Answers focused on prematurity, birth complications, and birth weight, and along with reports of early developmental milestones, were compared between groups.

RESULTS

There were no statistically significant differences in prematurity, birth weights, birth complications, or motor and verbal developmental milestones between JOHD patients and GNE controls (all P values > 0.1). Furthermore, stratifying JOHD patients by CAG expansion (low vs. high) also showed no significant differences (GNE vs. low or GNE vs. high).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings support the notion that JOHD does not manifest as developmental delay before motor symptom onset and highlight a new framework to understand the course and nature of the disease.

The global state of research in stem cells therapy for spinal cord injury (2003-2022): a visualized analysis

Objective

Our study aimed to visualize the global status and frontiers in stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury by using bibliometric methodology.

Methods

Publication citation information related to stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury (SCI) studies between 2003 and 2022 was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. For the visualized study, VOS viewer software and Graph Pad Prism 9.5 were used to perform bibliometric analysis of included data and publication number statistics in stem cell therapy for the SCI domain.

Results

A total of 6,686 publications were retrieved. The USA and China made the highest contributions to global research with the highest number of citations and link strength. The journal Experimental Neurology ranks as the top journal, combining the publication amount and bibliometrics results. The University of Toronto, based in Canada, was the first-ranking institution. The directions of the current study could be divided into five clusters. The research of Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine and Neurosciences Mechanism Research may be the emerging frontiers in this domain.

Conclusion

In summary, stem cell therapy for spinal cord injuries is poised for more valuable advances.

Expanding horizons of tandem repeats in biology and medicine: Why 'genomic dark matter' matters

Approximately half of the human genome includes repetitive sequences, and these DNA sequences (as well as their transcribed repetitive RNA and translated amino-acid repeat sequences) are known as the repeatome. Within this repeatome there are a couple of million tandem repeats, dispersed throughout the genome. These tandem repeats have been estimated to constitute ∼8% of the entire human genome. These tandem repeats can be located throughout exons, introns and intergenic regions, thus potentially affecting the structure and function of tandemly repetitive DNA, RNA and protein sequences. Over more than three decades, more than 60 monogenic human disorders have been found to be caused by tandem-repeat mutations. These monogenic tandem-repeat disorders include Huntington's disease, a variety of ataxias, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia, as well as many other neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, tandem-repeat disorders can include fragile X syndrome, related fragile X disorders, as well as other neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, these monogenic tandem-repeat disorders, which were discovered via their dominant or recessive modes of inheritance, may represent the 'tip of the iceberg' with respect to tandem-repeat contributions to human disorders. A previous proposal that tandem repeats may contribute to the 'missing heritability' of various common polygenic human disorders has recently been supported by a variety of new evidence. This includes genome-wide studies that associate tandem-repeat mutations with autism, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and various types of cancers. In this article, I will discuss how tandem-repeat mutations and polymorphisms could contribute to a wide range of common disorders, along with some of the many major challenges of tandem-repeat biology and medicine. Finally, I will discuss the potential of tandem repeats to be therapeutically targeted, so as to prevent and treat an expanding range of human disorders.

Exploring Huntington's Disease Diagnosis via Artificial Intelligence Models: A Comprehensive Review

Huntington's Disease (HD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive motor dysfunction, cognitive impairment, and psychiatric symptoms. The early and accurate diagnosis of HD is crucial for effective intervention and patient care. This comprehensive review provides a comprehensive overview of the utilization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered algorithms in the diagnosis of HD. This review systematically analyses the existing literature to identify key trends, methodologies, and challenges in this emerging field. It also highlights the potential of ML and DL approaches in automating HD diagnosis through the analysis of clinical, genetic, and neuroimaging data. This review also discusses the limitations and ethical considerations associated with these models and suggests future research directions aimed at improving the early detection and management of Huntington's disease. It also serves as a valuable resource for researchers, clinicians, and healthcare professionals interested in the intersection of machine learning and neurodegenerative disease diagnosis.