Huntington's disease has been successfully treated for the first time, doctors tell BBC

[Swede]

Some good news.



https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cevz13xkxpro

[FarPoint]

1. This a very terrifying disease....

For the patient and anyone who is a caregiver and or family.... So debilitating....

Sounds like this treatment is in the CRISPR technology advancements...

[Dear_Prudence]

2. It's been 50 years

Since I worked as a certified nurses' aid, but some residents are seared in my memory. One resident was a farmer, a strong giant of a man, in the late stage of Huntingtons. His dementia left him volatile and sometimes violent. So, unlike other residents, he did not receive the degree of human comfort provided by staff to other residents. I remember his wife visiting, sobbing as she left while walking down the hall. Half of children inherit the disease, so the pain to any family must be unbearable. At the time, I was a young struggling Catholic and I looked it up in the library's Catholic encyclopedia. The view offered for those couples affected by this disease was that birth control was still wrong, so spouses should avoid physical contact. That was when I knew, for the first time, that the Church was not delivering the love, mercy, wisdom of Jesus. This news is heartening, knowing scientists are making some progress, providing some slim measure if hope to families.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

3. This is spectacular

Such a devastating disease for the patient and those who care for/love them.

[Scrivener7]

4. Wow. That's a miracle. Science is a miracle.

[lame54]

5. Don't tell RFK Jr.

[peggysue2]

6. Wow

A successful treatment for a really terrible disease.

The wonders of medical research are evolving so quickly. The thought that this therapy could eventually delay or even stop the disease process in those patients yet to see symptoms--the Huntington-0 stage patients from the article--is a stunning prospect.

Three cheers and applause for science!

[TlalocW]

7. That's great and all but

Have you heard about this Tylenol shit?

[karin_sj]

8. This is such great news

The mother of one of my close friends in high school had it, although I didn't know it at the time. I just remember her being very volatile and scary. You never knew when she was going to get angry about something. My friend had two sisters and three brothers. She died in her early 50s from Huntington's and her two sisters also died from it. I'm so glad that they are making progress in treating this horrific disease.

[ck4829]

9. UK healthcare: We've created a way to treat Huntington's disease / US healthcare: We've created a new medical bill

where we can measure the breaths a patient takes and charge them for the oxygen they use. Score!

[Aristus]

17. How long before we start to see on our hospital bills

a charge for “Just In Case We Forgot Any Frivolous Charges”?

[ShazzieB]

18. Healthcare is free in the UK.

The NHS doesn't bill anyone a penny for anything. In the US otoh...

[dflprincess]

10. This is amazing

And let's remember that the right wing likes to tell us that medical advances don't come from countries with universal care.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Advances don't come from deportations or denying student visas. . . . nt

[AllaN01Bear]

12. good .

[Martin68]

13. Fantastic news!

[liberalla]

14. Way cool!

[Maru Kitteh]

15. This made me cry. We recently lost a dear patient with Huntingtons.

What a blessing this will be for so many families.

[ananda]

16. That's the one Woody Guthrie died of.

I remember Arlo Guthrie had to take the test
and turned out not to have it.

He showed Woody in the hospital bed where
he and his mother Marjorie were visiting,
maybe in Alice's Restaurant.

It was pretty awful.

[ReRe]

19. K&R

Thanks Swede. This is wonderful news!

[markpkessinger]

20. I have a cousin who is in an advanced stage of this disease . . .

. . . I hope this treatment can be made available soon enough to help her.

[Prairie_Seagull]

21. Along with the obvious help for patients with Huntingtons disease.

In the linked BBC article it appears there is an implication for hope to others.

Prof Tabrizi says this gene therapy "is the beginning" and will open the gates for therapies that can reach more people.

[mercuryblues]

22. I just came back from a seminar that touched on this this.

the surgery will most likely be well over a million dollars. Most likely in the 4-million-dollar range.

They were supposed to apply for the license for this surgery in the US by now, the date was changed to 2026 because of the impending shutdown. If the surgery gets approved here, it will be a while to train surgeons, nurses and doctors. Get equipment and set up the infrastructure.