Mena Farag
@drmfarag.bsky.social
📤 1712
📥 1624
📝 22
٣٤ ⋅ Doctor ⋅ MBBS, MRCP, PhD ⋅ Neurology SpR (ST7)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0679-0117
pinned post!
Amid this week’s huge milestone in
#HD
treatment, I’m excited to share part of my PhD thesis + our paper published today in
@movedisorder.bsky.social
on CSF
#PENK
predicting striatal atrophy decades before clinical motor diagnosis 🔗
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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Cerebrospinal Fluid Proenkephalin Predicts Striatal Atrophy Decades before Clinical Motor Diagnosis in Huntington's Disease
Background Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by early, selective, progressive vulnerability of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). Proenkephalin (PENK), a precursor of opioid peptides abu...
https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mds.70062
7 months ago
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Still feels surreal to say I defended my PhD viva with no corrections. Huge thanks to my examiners and supervisors for their support, and to everyone at
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
@uclqsion.bsky.social
who helped along this journey. As in my thesis dedication: for the
#HD
community.
#PhDone
🥳
about 2 months ago
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reposted by
Mena Farag
International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society®
3 months ago
The current HD-ISS doesn't incorporate wet biomarkers. Dr. Mena Farag discusses the promising results of proenkephalin and other biomarkers to help monitor the earliest stages of HD before the onset of motor symptoms.
https://loom.ly/j3VrGFs
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So much
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
love at my leaving do! Thank you to everyone who made the last three years of my PhD journey such a joy.
@uclbrainscience.bsky.social
@uclqsion.bsky.social
3 months ago
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Signing off from the LWENC with this wonderful team. 3 years of teamwork, learning and shared commitment to our
#HD
clinical trials
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
@uclqsion.bsky.social
- thank you all for making it so special.
3 months ago
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Nature Reviews Neurology
4 months ago
Discovery of disrupted sustained attention and altered functional connectivity in far‐from‐onset Huntington's disease gene‐expanded young adults
alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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Discovery of disrupted sustained attention and altered functional connectivity in far‐from‐onset Huntington's disease gene‐expanded young adults
BACKGROUND Cognitive impairments are a hallmark of Huntington's disease (HD). METHODS Seventy-one participants (43 HD gene-expanded [HDGE], 28 healthy controls) from the HD-Young Adult Study at tw...
https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.70944?af=R
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL Huntington’s Disease Centre
5 months ago
Congratulations
@drmfarag.bsky.social
from
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
! 👏
@ukdri.ac.uk
@uclqsion.bsky.social
@uclbrainscience.bsky.social
@uclnews.bsky.social
@ucl.ac.uk
🔗
www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...
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Dr Mena Farag awarded a UK DRI Recognition Prize 2025
We're delighted that Dr Mena Farag (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) was awarded the UK DRI PhD Prize on 9th December 2025 at Connectome 2025.
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-sciences/news/2025/dec/dr-mena-farag-awarded-uk-dri-recognition-prize-2025
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I am incredibly honoured to share that I have been awarded the
@ukdri.ac.uk
PhD Prize at
#Connectome
2025!
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
@uclqsion.bsky.social
@uclbrainscience.bsky.social
5 months ago
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL Discovery
5 months ago
Open Access UCL Research: Huntington's disease clinical trials update: October 2025
discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10...
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Huntington's disease clinical trials update: October 2025 - UCL Discovery
UCL Discovery is UCL's open access repository, showcasing and providing access to UCL research outputs from all UCL disciplines.
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10217957/
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Check out the October 2025 edition of the
#HD
Clinical Trials Update, now published in the Journal of Huntington's Disease and available online! 🔗
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
@profwild.bsky.social
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
@uclqsion.bsky.social
@uclbrainscience.bsky.social
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Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/18796397251399751
5 months ago
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences
5 months ago
🎉 Congratulations to Prof. Sarah Tabrizi (
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
,
@uclqsion.bsky.social
) who has won the prestigious
@britishneuro.bsky.social
prize for her outstanding contributions to neuroscience!
www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/no...
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reposted by
Mena Farag
JAMA Neurology
6 months ago
A secondary analysis of the TEMPO-2 RCT found no significant improvement in outcomes for minor ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous tenecteplase, regardless of the presence of disabling deficits.
ja.ma/3WT9IHi
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Nature Reviews Neurology
7 months ago
Cerebrospinal Fluid Proenkephalin Predicts Striatal Atrophy Decades before Clinical Motor Diagnosis in Huntington's Disease
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mds.70062?af=R
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2
2
Amid this week’s huge milestone in
#HD
treatment, I’m excited to share part of my PhD thesis + our paper published today in
@movedisorder.bsky.social
on CSF
#PENK
predicting striatal atrophy decades before clinical motor diagnosis 🔗
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
loading . . .
Cerebrospinal Fluid Proenkephalin Predicts Striatal Atrophy Decades before Clinical Motor Diagnosis in Huntington's Disease
Background Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by early, selective, progressive vulnerability of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). Proenkephalin (PENK), a precursor of opioid peptides abu...
https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mds.70062
7 months ago
1
18
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reposted by
Mena Farag
HDClarity
7 months ago
A major milestone was reached yesterday in neurodegenerative medicine, advancing hope for those affected by Huntington’s disease🧵
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Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time
One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.
https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticles%2Fcevz13xkxpro&data=05%7C02%7Cchloe.young.22%40ucl.ac.uk%7Cd1b083fd6f5d4a525bde08ddfc16ebee%7C1faf88fea9984c5b93c9210a11d9a5c2%7C0%7C0%7C638943897548481238%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Drx9RQKBs7cvwcPBtdfaw3BwKSGogc2rDxvix%2F5OSLk%3D&reserved=0
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences
7 months ago
🧵 BREAKING: Gene therapy shows promise in slowing Huntington’s disease progression. A major milestone in neurodegenerative disease research.
@uclqsion.bsky.social
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time
One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cevz13xkxpro
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL Discovery
8 months ago
Open Access UCL Research: Bias in HD-ISS staging introduced by the FreeSurfer cross-sectional stream: Insights from the Huntington's Disease Young Adult Study (HD-YAS)
discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10...
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Bias in HD-ISS staging introduced by the FreeSurfer cross-sectional stream: Insights from the Huntington's Disease Young Adult Study (HD-YAS) - UCL Discovery
UCL Discovery is UCL's open access repository, showcasing and providing access to UCL research outputs from all UCL disciplines.
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10212470/
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reposted by
Mena Farag
The Lancet
9 months ago
The oncogenic KRAS mutation has been the subject of intense investigation. In The Lancet, a new phase 3 trial reports on adagrasib versus docetaxel in KRASG12C-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer. This and more in our latest issue 👉
bit.ly/4mi7T1y
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In 2015, just out of medical school, I’d never have imagined seeing my name in
@thelancet.com
! Our review on vesicular monoamine transport (#VMAT) inhibitors is published today.
@uclqsion.bsky.social
@uclbrainscience.bsky.social
🔗 Read the full article here:
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
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Vesicular monoamine transport inhibitors: current uses and future directions
Advancements over the past decade in understanding vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitors highlight their key role in the treatment of movement and neuropsychiatric disorders. VMAT2 is c...
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01072-4/
9 months ago
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reposted by
Mena Farag
House of Byrne Lab
10 months ago
Here's an open access link to full text of our paper shared last week!
rdcu.be/evKF9
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Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases
https://rdcu.be/evKF9
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Rachael Scahill
10 months ago
Important paper on accessible biomarkers from
@hob-lab.bsky.social
. Well done Annabelle Coleman
@drl-bo.bsky.social
and all.
add a skeleton here at some point
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Dr Lauren Byrne
10 months ago
I am unbelievably proud to have my first senior author paper published today! It was a long slog through multiple review cycles but we got there! A big thank you to my lab members and all the collaborators and participants who contributed to this work! 🥲
add a skeleton here at some point
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8
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reposted by
Mena Farag
House of Byrne Lab
10 months ago
We are delighted to present the first publication out of the lab, available online today, titled ‘Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases’
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
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Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases - Journal of Neurology
Promising blood-based biomarkers of neuropathology have emerged with potential for therapeutic development and disease monitoring. However, these tools will require specialist tertiary services for in...
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00415-025-13232-8?utm_source=rct_congratemailt&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=oa_20250710&utm_content=10.1007/s00415-025-13232-8
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL Huntington’s Disease Centre
10 months ago
New paper from the
@hob-lab.bsky.social
just published in Journal of Neurology. A step toward more accessible biomarker testing 🩸
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@drl-bo.bsky.social
@uclbrainscience.bsky.social
@uclqsion.bsky.social
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Evaluating finger-prick blood collection for remote quantification of neurofilament light in neurological diseases - Journal of Neurology
Promising blood-based biomarkers of neuropathology have emerged with potential for therapeutic development and disease monitoring. However, these tools will require specialist tertiary services for in...
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00415-025-13232-8
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Super fun first 5K
#RUN4HDYO
! 🏃 💨 🏃♀️ Over £2500 raised for the Olivia (Liv) Martinez Scholarship Fund for HDYO - honouring an amazing ambassador I met at
#HDYO
Congress in Glasgow in 2023. Liv's kindness and passion touched so many.
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
@uclqsion.bsky.social
10 months ago
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5
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL News
11 months ago
A series of digital tests carried out via a smartphone app could enhance the detection of disease progression in
#HuntingtonsDisease
and improve the efficiency of clinical trials, finds research led by scientists at
@uclqsion.bsky.social
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
and Roche including
@profwild.bsky.social
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Smartphone tests could accelerate drug development for Huntington’s disease
A series of digital tests, carried out via a smartphone app, could enhance the detection of disease progression in Huntington’s disease and improve the efficiency of clinical trials, finds research le...
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/jun/smartphone-tests-could-accelerate-drug-development-huntingtons-disease
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Prof Ed Wild
11 months ago
New paper in BRAIN from Team Wild and Roche: A digital motor score for sensitive detection of progression in Huntington’s disease (open access)
doi.org/10.1093/brai...
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A digital motor score for sensitive detection of progression in Huntington’s disease
Giboin et al. introduce a new motor score that can be used to monitor Huntington’s disease progression. Co-designed by people with Huntington’s disease and
https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awaf127
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Check out the March 2025 edition of the
#HD
Clinical Trials Update, now available online in the Journal of Huntington's Disease
@profwild.bsky.social
🔓 Open access link:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
@uclbrainscience.bsky.social
@uclqsion.bsky.social
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL Huntington’s Disease Centre
about 1 year ago
Hot off the press! Check out the second edition of the
@ehdn-news.bsky.social
Imaging Working Group (#iWG) newsletter!
#HD
#neuroimaging
@drmichelaleocadi.bsky.social
@rachiscahill.bsky.social
@nicolahobbs.bsky.social
ehdn.org/wp-content/u...
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https://ehdn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/iWG_Newsletter_March2025_compressed.pdf
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Thank you HDYO for the opportunity to talk about HD-YAS at
#HDYO
Congress 2025! Truly an inspiring community and family — and this absolutely drives all the work we do!
@ucl-hd.bsky.social
@uclqsion.bsky.social
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Eduardo Argüelles-González
about 1 year ago
Neuroimaging Techniques in
#Huntington's
Disease: A Critical Review 🧠
#Neurology
#movedisorder
#MedEd
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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Neuroimaging Techniques in Huntington's Disease: A Critical Review
Background Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive, neuropsychiatric and motor symptoms caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the ...
https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mdc3.70010?af=R
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Curious about brain imaging in HD? Our latest review summarises key findings from structural, diffusion and fMRI, plus emerging techniques like 7T MRI, MEG and novel mHTT PET ligands.
movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
@rachiscahill.bsky.social
@carlosestevezfraga.bsky.social
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Neuroimaging Techniques in Huntington's Disease: A Critical Review
Background Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive, neuropsychiatric and motor symptoms caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the ...
https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mdc3.70010
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Nature Reviews Neurology
about 1 year ago
ICYMI: New online! Degeneration decades before disease onset
https://bit.ly/3D6Bt8Y
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Will Scotton
about 1 year ago
academic.oup.com/braincomms/a...
delighted to finally see this out. We asked the question - could we identify different subtypes of CBS using SuStaIn algorithm applied to a baseline structural MRI scan and if so did these associate with underlying pathology? Read the paper to find out!
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Distinct spatiotemporal atrophy patterns in corticobasal syndrome are associated with different underlying pathologies
Scotton et al. report distinct subtypes of atrophy progression in corticobasal syndrome identified using machine learning analysis of structural MRI scans.
https://academic.oup.com/braincomms/advance-article/doi/10.1093/braincomms/fcaf066/8008616
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL Huntington’s Disease Centre
about 1 year ago
Prof Tabrizi: “I want to thank the participants in our young adult study as their dedication and commitment over the last 5 years mean we hope clinical trials aimed at preventing
#HD
will become a reality in the next few years."
@rachiscahill.bsky.social
@drmfarag.bsky.social
@uclqsion.bsky.social
add a skeleton here at some point
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL Discovery
over 1 year ago
Open Access UCL Research: Somatic CAG repeat expansion in blood associates with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease decades before clinical motor diagnosis
discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10...
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Somatic CAG repeat expansion in blood associates with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease decades before clinical motor diagnosis - UCL Discovery
UCL Discovery is UCL's open access repository, showcasing and providing access to UCL research outputs from all UCL disciplines.
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10204048/
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Mahmoud Pouladi
over 1 year ago
Made a starter pack of the Huntington disease researchers/orgs I can find on Bluesky. If you’re an HD researcher and want to be added, reply or DM.
go.bsky.app/UM9WCpA
add a skeleton here at some point
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Nature Reviews Neurology
over 1 year ago
Somatic CAG repeat expansion in blood associates with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in Huntington’s disease decades before clinical motor diagnosis
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Somatic CAG repeat expansion in blood associates with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in Huntington’s disease decades before clinical motor diagnosis - Nature Medicine
A comprehensive longitudinal analysis of individuals with preclinical Huntington’s disease identifies biomarkers of neurodegeneration and somatic expansion in blood DNA, detectable years before sympto...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03424-6
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Nixa Sedes, MD
over 1 year ago
Somatic CAG repeat expansion in blood associates with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in Huntington’s disease decades before clinical motor diagnosis
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Somatic CAG repeat expansion in blood associates with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in Huntington’s disease decades before clinical motor diagnosis - Nature Medicine
A comprehensive longitudinal analysis of individuals with preclinical Huntington’s disease identifies biomarkers of neurodegeneration and somatic expansion in blood DNA, detectable years before sympto...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03424-6
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reposted by
Mena Farag
Rachael Scahill
over 1 year ago
Our paper in Nature Medicine is out today! Great working with
@drmfarag.bsky.social
& the YAS team (researchers and participants) to identify biomarkers that pave the way for preventative trials in Huntington's Disease. Thanks to
@wellcometrust.bsky.social
and CHDI for funding.
tinyurl.com/3fde9mth
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL News
over 1 year ago
Subtle changes in the brain happen around 20 years before a clinical motor diagnosis in people with Huntington’s disease. The new findings from a study led by Prof Sarah Tabrizi
@uclqsion.bsky.social
@uclbrainscience.bsky.social
will guide future prevention trials
www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ja...
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Brain changes in Huntington’s disease decades before diagnosis will guide future prevention trials
Subtle changes in the brain, detectable through advanced imaging, blood and spinal fluid analysis, happen approximately twenty years before a clinical motor diagnosis in people with Huntington’s disea...
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/jan/brain-changes-huntingtons-disease-decades-diagnosis-will-guide-future-prevention-trials
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Excited to share my joint first-author paper (with
@rachiscahill.bsky.social
) published today in Nature Medicine (
@natmedicine.bsky.social
,
@nature.com
). Our findings are timely as the
#HD
therapeutic landscape expands toward preventive clinical trials. 🔓 Open access:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Somatic CAG repeat expansion in blood associates with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in Huntington’s disease decades before clinical motor diagnosis - Nature Medicine
A comprehensive longitudinal analysis of individuals with preclinical Huntington’s disease identifies biomarkers of neurodegeneration and somatic expansion in blood DNA, detectable years before sympto...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03424-6
over 1 year ago
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Check out the latest edition of the
#HD
Clinical Trials Update, now available online in the Journal of Huntington's Disease
@profwild.bsky.social
🔓 Open access link:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
over 1 year ago
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reposted by
Mena Farag
UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
over 1 year ago
We're excited to join BlueSky! Make sure to follow us for the latest news from the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology.
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