Scientists at the Centre for Life Sciences and Biotechnology at Łukasiewicz – Polish Centre for Technology Development (PORT) are working on therapies that could lead to breakthroughs in the treatment of serious medical conditions. The latest approach to treating Huntington’s disease is the subject of research by Dr Agnieszka Krzyzosiak and the Neurodegeneration Mechanisms Research Group that she leads.
The innovation in the research is the use of human models from patients as an alternative to animal models. The research method, which is based on reprogramming non-diseased cells (e.g. fibroblasts in the skin) into neurons, was developed by Prof Andrew Yoo (USA). Its innovation is demonstrated by the fact that it enables cells to be reprogrammed in such a way that they reflect both the genetic and epigenetic background of the disease.
Huntington’s disease is a rare genetic neurodegenerative disease, estimated to affect five out of every 100,000 people.
