Scientists from the John Hopkins Medical Institutions have discovered how to reverse the process that destroys the brain cells of people with Huntington’s disease. Experiments revealed that a mutant protein called huntington, produced by the gene responsible for the neurological condition, triggers the death of healthy nerve cells by becoming entangled with another protein known as CBP. In laboratory tests the scientists managed to reverse the death of human cells containing huntington by removing the part of the CBP molecule that is normally attracted to Huntington and adding it to the cell culture.
www.bbc.co.uk on the 25th March 2001