Hypothalamic-endocrine aspects in Huntington's disease

Eur J Neurosci. 2006 Aug;24(4):961-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2006.04985.x. Epub 2006 Aug 21.

Abstract

Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary and fatal disorder caused by an expanded CAG triplet repeat in the HD gene, resulting in a mutant form of the protein huntingtin. Wild-type and mutant huntingtin are expressed in most tissues of the body but the normal function of huntingtin is not fully known. In HD, the neuropathology is characterized by intranuclear and cytoplasmic inclusions of huntingtin aggregates, and cell death primarily in striatum and cerebral cortex. However, hypothalamic atrophy occurs at early stages of HD with loss of orexin- and somatostatin-containing cell populations. Several symptoms of HD such as sleep disturbances, alterations in circadian rhythm, and weight loss may be due to hypothalamic dysfunction. Endocrine changes including increased cortisol levels, reduced testosterone levels and increased prevalence of diabetes are found in HD patients. In HD mice, alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis occurs as well as pancreatic beta-cell and adipocyte dysfunction. Increasing evidence points towards important pathology of the hypothalamus and the endocrine system in HD. As many neuroendocrine factors are secreted into the cerebrospinal fluid, blood and urine, it is possible that their levels may reflect the disease state in the central nervous system. Investigating neuroendocrine changes in HD opens up the possibility of finding biomarkers to evaluate future therapies for HD, as well as of identifying novel targets for therapeutic interventions.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Diabetes Mellitus / physiopathology
  • Endocrine System / pathology
  • Endocrine System / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Huntingtin Protein
  • Huntington Disease / genetics
  • Huntington Disease / physiopathology*
  • Hypothalamus / pathology
  • Hypothalamus / physiology*
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / genetics
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism
  • Neuropeptides / metabolism
  • Nuclear Proteins / genetics
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism
  • Sleep / physiology
  • Weight Loss

Substances

  • HTT protein, human
  • Huntingtin Protein
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Neuropeptides
  • Nuclear Proteins