Comprehensive Huntington's Disease Clinic Opens at Northwestern Medicine

CHICAGO, May 14, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Northwestern Medicine^® recently launched a multidisciplinary clinic dedicated to the research and comprehensive treatment of patients battling Huntington's disease. The new clinic will focus on both patient care and discovering new treatments for this inherited disease which causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain.

"Huntington's disease is a hereditary disorder characterized by abnormal movements and cognitive difficulties caused by a mutation in the gene huntingtin," said Dimitri Krainc, MD, PhD, Aaron Montgomery Ward Professor and chair of The Ken & Ruth Davee Department of Neurology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "The very complex nature of this disease requires a collaboration of top experts in the fields of neurology, psychiatry, genetics, social work and more. Our Huntington's clinic will provide multidisciplinary care with researchers at the forefront of research and physicians providing the most comprehensive treatment available. It's a group dedicated to improving the quality of life for our patients, finding better treatments and one day, hopefully, a cure.

In the United States, about 30,000 people have Huntington's disease and many more are at risk of developing it. For these patients, brain cells, or neurons, in certain areas of the brain start to break down. As the neurons degenerate, the disease can lead to emotional disturbances, loss of intellectual abilities and uncontrolled movement. A parent with Huntington disease has a 50 percent chance of passing the disease on to their child. A genetic test can determine if someone has the gene and will develop the disease. There is no cure for Huntington's disease and while medicine can help manage some of the symptoms, it cannot slow down or stop the disease.

Throughout the past decade, Krainc has been recognized as one of the leading Huntington's disease researchers, having discovered how abnormal huntingtin leads to the dysfunction of brain cells early in the disease or before the symptoms appear. This research has identified the underpinnings of the disease that serves as the foundation for development of new treatments.   

"Our physicians and researchers all have the same goal - to improve the quality of care for patients at every stage of this disease," said Danny Bega, MD, a neurologist and clinical director of the Huntington's Disease Clinic at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and a faculty member at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "While there is no cure for Huntington's, we will work with patients to help them cope with emotional challenges while also finding the best medications to treat symptoms. In addition, we provide support for their caregivers, families and loved ones."

The other key researchers who study Huntington's disease at Northwestern University are:   

• D. James Surmeier, PhD, Nathan Smith Davis Professor of Physiology and chair of Feinberg's Department of Physiology. Surmeier researches how the brain's basal ganglia network stops working normally in Huntington's patients, which affect their core motor symptoms. His lab utilizes an animal model of Huntington's disease with the same genetic mutation associated with the human disease. Insights gained from this work are currently being applied to clinical trials testing new therapies.
• Richard B. Silverman, PhD, John Evans Professor of Chemistry and professor in Molecular Biosciences at Northwestern University's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. Silverman studies the mechanisms and design of drug agents to treat several neurodegenerative and neurological diseases. In a previous Huntington's disease project, his group synthesized compounds active in cells that had drug-like properties and investigated their potential to reverse the effects of neurodegeneration. 
• Richard I. Morimoto, PhD, Bill and Gayle Cook Professor in Molecular Biosciences at Weinberg. Morimoto investigates cell stress response pathways and protein homeostasis networks that determine the folding, transport and clearance of the proteins expressed in the body. His lab employs biochemical, genetic, molecular, proteomic and genomic methods to identify changes that occur during Huntington's disease and other age-associated neurodegenerative diseases.
• Ravi Allada, MD, chair of Weinberg's department of Neurobiology and professor in Feinberg's department of Pathology. Allada's research focuses on the circadian regulation of sleep behavior. Allada's laboratory tests the hypothesis that the circadian clock function is linked to the neurodegenerative decline seen in Huntington's disease and other conditions, and to discover the genetic bases of these links in hopes of providing novel pharmaceutical targets and protective strategies.

For more information on the Northwestern Medicine Huntington's Disease Clinic, click here. To make an appointment, please call (312) 695-7950.

About Northwestern Memorial HealthCare
Northwestern Memorial HealthCare (NMHC) is an academic health delivery system whose entities operate as Northwestern Medicine®. NMHC consists of 60 sites of outpatient care services throughout Chicago and Illinois' northern and western suburban regions, including four hospitals; Lake Forest Hospital in Lake Forest, Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Delnor Hospital in Geneva and its flagship Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, which is rated No. 1 in Chicago and Illinois, as well as 10th in the nation according to the U.S. News & World Report 2014-2015 Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals. Additionally, the health system includes Northwestern Medical Group, more than 1,000 physicians who hold faculty appointments at NMHC Northwestern Medicine partner Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Cadence Physician Group, a local network of more than 250 primary care physicians and specialists on the medical staffs at Central DuPage Hospital and Delnor Hospital; and approximately 2,800 affiliated physicians.

About Northwestern Medicine®
Northwestern Medicine® is the collaboration between Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine around a strategic vision to transform the future of healthcare.  It encompasses the research, teaching and patient care activities of the academic medical center. Sharing a commitment to superior quality, academic excellence and patient safety, the organizations within Northwestern Medicine comprise more than 9,000 clinical and administrative staff, 3,100 medical and science faculty and 700 students. The entities involved in Northwestern Medicine remain separate organizations. Northwestern Medicine is a trademark of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and is used by Northwestern University.

SOURCE Northwestern Medicine

Related Links

http://nmh.org

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