For Huntington’s disease clues, scientists are looking in fruit flies

Understanding how Huntington’s disease progresses at the molecular level could reveal some mechanism that, if interrupted, can stop it in its tracks.

A male common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), about 2 mm long, is seen sitting on a blade of grass.

Every month, the medical genetics clinic in the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, sees about three to four people with Huntington’s disease. The numbers might appear small, but in each case behind the individual lies a family devastated.

At first, Huntington’s disease patients have mild symptoms: forgetfulness, loss of balance, and clumsiness in performing simple tasks. The symptoms begin in the ages 30-50, by when the patient might also have had children. The condition progressively worsens. The patient suffers mood swings, has difficulty in reasoning, shows abnormal and uncontrollable jerky movements, and experiences difficulty in speaking, swallowing, and walking.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/huntingtons-disease-polyglutamine-tracts-yod1-gene-explained/article67673806.ece