Hope for people with Huntington's disease

Good news for thousands - 27th October 2025

There's recently been some good news for people with Huntington's disease. Scientists have actually found a treatment which works.

Huntington's is a terrible disease which stops people from moving and from talking. It has a negative effect on the brain. People with Huntington's die young.

The disease begins with an error in our DNA. The error or 'mutation' is in the 'huntingtin' gene. This is a gene which produces proteins. The mutation creates problems in how the brain works.

The disease runs in families. A child whose parent has Huntington's has a 50 percent chance of becoming ill. Details about the gene were first discovered in 1993. However, it's been impossible to find a cure.

Fortunately, that's now changed. Scientists from University College London worked with a gene therapy company, 'uniQure'. 29 people with Huntington's received the new treatment. It used a kind of gene therapy and it needed 12 to 18 hours of brain surgery.

The results shocked everyone. The disease was slowed down by 75 percent. This means patients can expect a longer and healthier life. One expert, Professor Ed Wild, believes the treatment could last for life.

The therapy's expensive and complicated. However, for some scientists, this might be just the start.