Leo Gillick
Every day, modern science makes breakthroughs, tackling debilitating and fatal diseases. For the first time, Huntington’s disease has been treated, marking a huge step for people suffering from and susceptible to it.
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Huntington’s is a dreadfully cruel hereditary disease that slowly destroys a person’s brain until they are completely debilitated. It is a brutal end to someone’s life, and it is a devastating ordeal for families. Like many other degenerative diseases, it is often passed on through genetics. However, scientists have successfully treated the disease.
Slow Down: Prof Tabrizi, director of the University College London Huntington’s Disease Centre, has been working with her team to combat the effects of Huntington’s disease. They have recently had a huge breakthrough in treatment.
- The results show a 75% slowdown in the onset of symptoms. Symptoms that would usually appear over the space of a year now take four. This will, according to their research, give people decades longer. They will be able to live with the disease with a significantly improved lifestyle.
Beyond Belief
Scientists have been trying to find ways to combat the rapid onset of Huntington’s disease for generations. Too many people have watched loved ones fade away due to the sickness, fearing for their own health in the future. A 75% slowdown in symptoms is more than they could have hoped for.
- Prof Ed Wild, consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at UCLH, was teary as he spoke about their progress to the BBC. “There was every chance that we would never see a result like this, so to be living in a world where we know this is not only possible, but the actual magnitude of the effect is breathtaking; it’s very difficult to fully encapsulate the emotion.”
Serious Surgery: The process is a complex and, currently, expensive one. It includes between 12 to 18 hours of intricate brain surgery. However, the results speak for themselves. This is the breakthrough people were waiting for. Now that the early stages and proof are there, other institutions can work on their findings.
Hopefully, as time goes on, further leaps can be made in combating the devastating effects of Huntington’s disease.
