British researchers today announced the discovery of a blood test that can predict the onset of Huntington’s disease.
The University College London researchers say the test should help with identifying effective new treatments for the disease.
The test is based on measuring the neurofilament light chain protein.
The protein has been linked to other neurological diseases and can be measured through a blood test.
The international project included researchers in Sweden, the USA, Canada, France and the Netherlands.
This showed that carriers of the Huntington’s gene had more than twice the concentrations of the protein than others – even though they were "years" from showing symptoms. The level of protein increased as the disease progressed.
The researchers reported their findings in The Lancet Neurology.
Researcher Dr Edward Wild said: “We have been trying to identify blood biomarkers to help track the progression of HD for well over a decade, and this is the best candidate that we have seen so far.
“Neurofilament has the potential to serve as a speedometer in Huntington’s disease, since a single blood test reflects how quickly the brain is changing.
"That could be very helpful right now as we are testing a new generation of so-called ‘gene silencing’ drugs that we hope will put the brakes on the condition. Measuring neurofilament levels could help us figure out whether those brakes are working.”
Neurofilament light protein in blood as a potential biomarker of neurodegeneration in Huntington’s disease: a retrospective cohort analysis Lancet Neurology 8 June 2017 [abstract]
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