Clinical relevance of electrophysiological tests in the assessment of patients with Huntington's disease.

Assessment programs recently designed to follow-up patients with Huntington's disease (HD) in therapeutic trials have not included electrophysiological testing in the list of mandatory examinations. This omission is likely due to the current lack of data establishing a clear correlation between the electrophysiological results and those of clinical assessment. We address this issue in a cohort of 36 patients at relatively early stages of the disease (I and II). Electrophysiological studies comprised the recording of palmar sympathetic skin responses (SSRs), blink reflexes (BRs), thenar long latency reflexes (LLRs), cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), and electromyographic silent periods evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (SPs). Results were analyzed with reference to disease duration and staging and to specific cognitive, psychiatric, and motor alteration. SEPs were the most and very sensitive markers, because they were abnormal in 94% of patients. Except for LLRs, alteration of electrophysiological results increased in parallel to the evolution of the disease. Except for LLRs and SSR latency, electrophysiological results correlated with those of specific clinical examinations. In particular, an increased BR latency or a reduced amplitude of the N20 component of SEPs correlated with the extent of bradykinesia, whereas a reduced amplitude of SSRs or of the N30 component of SEPs correlated with hyperkinesia. Overall, electrophysiological tests, in particular SEPs and BRs, appeared sensitive and interesting in the follow-up of HD patients and correlated with various clinical parameters, suggesting that these easy to perform and noninvasive repeatable examinations could be added fruitfully to the assessment programs for HD.

Corticostriatopallidal neuroprotection by adenovirus-mediated ciliary neurotrophic factor gene transfer in a rat model of progressive striatal degeneration.

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) is a potent protective factor for striatal neurons in animal models of Huntington's disease (HD). Clinical application of this potential therapeutic still requires the design and optimization of delivery systems. In the case of HD, spatial spread in the vast volume occupied by the striatum and long-term delivery of the factor are particular challenges for these systems. We explored the potential of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer to fulfill these requirements by studying the functional and anatomical effects of single-site striatal delivery of CNTF recombinant vectors in a rat model of HD. In an initial series of experiments, unilateral injections of CNTF adenovirus were performed in rats 10, 30, or 90 d before a 5 d neurotoxic treatment with systemic 3-nitropropionic acid (3NP). Preservation of striatal neurons was observed at all time points, demonstrating temporally extended neuroprotective effects of the CNTF adenovirus. In a second series of experiments, bilateral injections of CNTF adenovirus were performed in the medial aspect of the striatum 10 d before starting 3NP intoxication. Despite placement of the CNTF-producing vector outside the lateral striatal area susceptible to lesion, massive protection of corticostriatopallidal circuits was observed, associated with significant behavioral benefits. This spatial spread of neuroprotection is discussed with reference to the retrograde transport of the adenovirus vector and the anterograde transport of the transgenic CNTF. Overall, adenovirus-mediated CNTF gene transfer appears to be a potentially useful delivery system for widespread, long-term circuit neuroprotection in HD patients.