UCI Reports Protein Success

By Gary Robbins

April 11, 2002

A synthetic protein produced in a laboratory appears to stop the progression of Huntington's disease in fruit files, says a study by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Irvine.

The man-made protein binds to a natural protein, preventing the destruction of nerve cells in the central nervous system, the researchers say in the journal Nature Genetics.

The finding suggests that researchers might eventually be able to use gene therapy, or some other form of medicine, to stop or prevent Huntington's disease in humans.

The disease is caused by a genetic mutation.