The Baltimore Huntington's Disease Center
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The Baltimore Huntington's Disease Center is one of the two centers for research in Huntington's disease supported by the NIH in the United States. The Program Director is Christopher A. Ross, M.D., Ph.D. The Program has a clinical component and a laboratory research component that work together.
The clinical component focuses on the study of patients with HD. The Clinical Director is Adam Rosenblatt, M.D. The clinic is available to make diagnoses and consult on the management of patients in the mid-Atlantic area. A cohort of patients is followed over time to uncover influences on the rate of progression of HD. Clinical assessments are done in the HD Clinic. The clinical component relies on gene tests performed in the Genetics Laboratory, cognitive testing by the Neuropsychology Group (Fred Bylsma, Ph.D. and Jason Brandt, Ph.D.), and annual MRI scans to follow changes in the brain for correlation with clinical symptoms.
The clinical core also has a special interest in trials of new medications to attempt to treat HD. Two major placebo-controlled double-blind studies have been carried out in the past several years, one of Vitamin E and one of Idebenone (Avan). Unfortunately, neither proved to be of benefit, but the clinical core participates actively with the Huntington's Study Group which coordinates multi-center trials and is involved in attempting to secure funding for additional trials for the future.
The laboratory component of the BHDC is centered in the laboratory of Christopher Ross with collaborations at Hopkins and elsewhere. The focus is on understanding the biochemistry of HD, particularly how the protein product of the HD gene alters the biochemistry of the brain to kill neurons. The laboratory is also attempting to develop cellular and animal models of HD.
