UCI Medical Center Opens Huntington’s Disease Clinic
Clinic Improves Patients’ Quality of Life and Expands Research
Orange, Calif., August 9, 2005 – Patients and families seeking neurological and psychological support for Huntington’s disease can now visit UCI Medical Center’s Huntington’s Disease Clinic. The clinic, located at Gottschalk Medical Plaza on the UC Irvine campus in the city of Irvine, operates the fourth Friday of every month by appointment. Appointments can be made by calling the UCI Neurology Call Center at 714-456-7239.
Huntington’s disease (HD), an incurable, progressive, genetic brain disorder results from the degeneration of brain cells, called neurons, in certain areas of the brain. It is a familial disease that is passed from parent to child through a mutation in the normal gene. Symptoms associated with this degeneration include, uncontrolled movements, loss of intellectual capabilities, and emotional disturbances. In the United States alone, about 30,000 people have HD and at least 150,000 others have a 50 percent risk of developing it.
No treatment currently exists to stop or reverse the course of Huntington’s disease, but UCI scientists, Leslie Thompson, Larry Marsh and their colleagues have been busy investigating the genetic basis for HD and possible gene therapy treatments. Their latest research with Joan Steffan and others at UCI, led to the discovery that SUMO-1, a cellular protein, may contribute to the accumulation of the mutated, Huntington’s disease protein, called Htt and enhance the disease process. Therefore, SUMO has emerged as a potential target for treatment and several other promising drug compounds and combinations of compounds continue to be investigated for their potential to treat the disease. In the absence of available treatments however, patients rely on drugs to keep some of the adverse symptoms under control and in addition seek the advice of genetic counselors and social workers to cope with the personal and family-related affects of the disease.
“Patients who previously had to go out of the county for treatment of HD, now have a full-service clinic at our centrally-located facility,” said Dr. Neal Hermanowicz, clinic director. “While we continue to research this complex disease, we are providing our patients with the resources they need to improve their quality of life.”
People at risk for HD, as well as individuals with signs of HD, can visit UCI Medical Center’s Huntington’s Disease Clinic to access genetic testing, counseling and social service and neurological care. The clinic also serves patients in Riverside County and volunteers from the Huntington’s Disease Society of America’s Orange County Affiliate are available to provide patients with information about support groups and others resources in the community.
About UCI Medical Center: UCI Medical Center is the only university hospital in Orange County, offering acute- and general-care service. It has the county's only Level I trauma center, American College of Surgeons-verified regional burn center and National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. Included in its University Children's Hospital is the county's most sophisticated neonatal unit, caring for more than 500 premature and at-risk infants a year. UCI also is the only hospital in Orange County recognized in U.S. News & World Report’s annual listing of “America’s Best Hospitals” and to receive Magnet Designation for nursing excellence.
About the HDSA in Orange County: The HDSA OC Affiliate is part of the overall HDSA based in New York. As such it is a volunteer education and advocacy group for patients and families with HD. For more information about the HDSA OC Affiliate call 714-330-4197 and speak with Frances Saldana, President.
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Media
contact:
Susan Mancia
714-456-3640; pager 714-506-0472
smancia@uci.edu