Hippocampus Mediates Cognitive Decline in Huntington's Disease: Study

Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that results in involuntary spastic movement and loss control of voluntary motor function and the patients also exhibit a decline in cognitive ability.

The defects in learning and memory associated with Huntington's disease have been ascribed to pathology in the frontal lobe of the brain. A new study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggests that alterations in the hippocampus contribute to memory dysfunction in Huntington's disease.

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Silvia Gines and colleagues at the University of Barcelona found increased expression of a protein, p75^NTR, in the hippocampus of Huntington's disease patients and mouse models of this disorder. p75^NTR is known to reduce dendritic spine density, which is associated with memory and learning defects. Reduction of p75^NTR in mouse models of Huntington's disease prevented the cognitive decline and maintained spine density.

Moreover, over expression of p75^NTR in the hippocampus of wild type mice recapitulated memory and learning defects associated with Huntington's disease. The results of this study recognize a potential role of the hippocampus in the development of Huntington's disease.

Source-Eurekalert

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