Widespread selenium deficiency in the brain of cases with Huntington's disease presents a new potential therapeutic target.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Huntington or Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease characterised by both progressive motor and cognitive dysfunction; its pathogenic mechanisms remain poorly understood and no treatment can currently slow, stop, or reverse its progression. There is some evidence of metallomic dysfunction in limited regions of the HD brain; we hypothesised that these alterations are more widespread than the current literature suggests and may contribute to pathogenesis in HD.

Methods

We measured the concentrations of eight essential metals (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, and manganese) and the metalloid selenium across 11 brain regions in nine genetically confirmed, clinically manifest cases of HD and nine controls

SUBMITTER: Scholefield M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10667115 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature