In The News

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) Passes in Senate Read the full press release here.

FDA Approval: Tetrabenazine to Treat Chorea

FDA advisory committee votes unanimously to recommend approval of tetrabenazine for chorea associated with Huntington's disease. This marks the first time in history that a drug could be approved in the U.S. to treat chorea associated with HD! Thank you all for your efforts and support!

• Read the Approval Press Releases
• Read HDF's 2007 Call to Action
• View the 2006 HDF Press Release

Hereditary Disease President Nancy Wexler to Receive Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science! Read the full press release here.

Advocacy Groups as Research Organizations — HDF praised as an example of an organization that helps to accelerate the process of taking basic science to treatments and techniques. [.pdf version]

HDF Trustee Herb Pardes, President of New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System, featured in January 7, 2007 New York Times article.

Carrie Fisher Article, NY Times: "Comedic Postscripts From The Edge", November 15, 2006.

Carrie Fisher Article, Playbill: "Another Round: Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking Extends Run in L.A.", November 27, 2006.

Nancy Wexler awarded honorary doctorate from Yale University, May 22, 2006. [.pdf version]

HDF Trustee and friend Donald H. Fritts passed away at his home in Bakersfield on Thursday, May 4 ,2006. A former publisher of The Bakersfield Californian, Don had been ill with Huntington's disease for many years."

"Gentleman Publisher Dies" | Thursday, May 4 2006
The Bakersfield Californian | Thursday, May 4 2006
The Bakersfield Californian | Friday, May 5 2006
Don Fritts' Obituary

"Prejudice in a portrayal of Huntington's disease" - a review by Nancy S. Wexler and Michael D. Rawlins of Ian McEwan's novel Saturday. [.pdf version]

Architect Frank Gehry presented his design for a new Alzheimer's research center in Las Vegas - LAS VEGAS (AP) - Architect Frank Gehry presented his design for a new Alzheimer's research center in Las Vegas on Saturday, unveiling an uneven stack of blocks anchoring a swooping trellis made of Gehry's signature contorted steel. (Las Vegas Sun, 11 Feb 2006) - [.pdf version]

Architect Frank Gehry spoke at SfN about how his work progresses from ideas to finished buildings. (BrainWork, November/December 2006) - [.pdf version]

Architect Frank Gehry's plan for a retail, residential and entertainment complex: opportunities and challenges LOS ANGELES (AP) Grand Avenue Project (The New York Times, Sun, 1 Jan 2007) - [.pdf version]

Alden Blethen lived a full life despite ravages of disease  - When friends and family remember Alden "Buster" Blethen, they don't talk of the man who was bedridden by a debilitating disease; they talk of the man who lived life to the fullest, who bore no bitterness from the ravages of his disease.

Mr. Blethen died Thursday from Huntington's disease, an inherited neurological disorder. He was 55. ...

Academy Elects 225th Class of Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members  Class Includes Scholars, Scientists, Artists, Civic, Corporate and Philanthropic Leaders, Cambridge, MA, April 26, 2005 - The American Academy of Arts and Sciences today announced the election of 196 new Fellows and 17 new Foreign Honorary Members. The 213 men and women are leaders in scholarship, business, the arts, and public affairs. [ Full article in .PDF ]

Book Review: Prejudice in a portrayal of Huntington’s disease  - "Saturday", Ian McEwan. Jonathan Cape, 2005. Pp 288. £17·99. ISBN 0-224-07299-4.  "McEwan sadly reinforces the stigma and stereotypes from which families with Huntington’s disease suffer, and which make them hide both their inheritance and their destiny.” -- Nancy S Wexler, Michael D Rawlins, www.thelancet.com Vol 366 September 24, 2005  [ Full article in .PDF ]

Nancy Wexler Featured on NPR’s All Things Considered: New York, New York May 16, 2004 “Reading Genes for Disease, Part 3: Huntington's Researcher's Work Led to Genetic Test and Family Dilemma”

Cover story: Special report: The elixir of life - May 25, 2003 - TIMES ONLINE of London - These microscopic white dots are called RNA. We all possess them; they are part of the DNA puzzle unravelled by Crick and Watson 50 years ago. But only now has a chance experiment to produce a petunia with more colourful petals revealed their potential - the incredible power to eradicate genetic disease and even the scalpel. By John Cornwell

Huntington's Disease: Historical and Contemporary Connections - Winter 2003 (pg 24), P&S - The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University - In the 10 years that have passed since the discovery of the gene that causes Huntington’s disease—the degenerative neurological disorder characterized by cognitive, motor, and behavioral impairments— Columbia has remained in the vanguard.

Genes May Draw Your Road Map, but You Still Chart Your Course - February 25, 2003, NY Times Science - It's all in the genes." How many times have you heard that? Well, forget it. It's not true, at least not for a vast majority of serious health problems that beset people in this and other Western countries

How the Arms of the Helixes Are Poised to Serve - February 25, 2003, NY Times Science - Mary Nathan's life was saved, but Carlos Urrutia learned he faced a premature death. Bonnie Davis received the assurance she needed to have another child, but Amy Hefner got news that might keep her from having another. Ray Krone was freed after 10 years in prison for a crime he did not commit; Mack Reaves III was convicted of a crime he committed 10 years earlier.

Voices on DNA - February 25, 2003, NY Times Science - Researchers and others tell how DNA's discovery, and the decades of genetic research that followed, affected their work and lives.

A Revolution at 50; NANCY S. WEXLER - February 25, 2003, NY Times Science - She is a professor of neuropsychology at Columbia. Driven by Huntington's disease in her family, Dr. Wexler led the effort to identify the gene that causes it. She has never said whether she has been tested for the gene.

The Pioneers of Molecular Biology: Nancy Wexler - February 09, 2003, Time The DNA Revolution - At risk for Huntington's disease herself, this scientist has made unraveling its mysteries her life's work

Yale Scientist Named Dean of Graduate School of Arts and Sciences - Susan Hockfield, a member of our Scientific Advisory Board, has been named dean of the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided to award The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2002 jointly to: - October 07, 2002 - Sydney Brenner, H. Robert Horvitz and John E. Sulston for their discoveries concerning "genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death."

Gillian Bates, M.Sc, Ph.D - September 7, 2001 - Former Hereditary Disease Foundation, Science Advisory Board Memeber, Gillian Bates, M.Sc, Ph.D was recently awarded the K.J. Zulch-Prize by the Max-Planck-Society for her research on Huntington's disease.

WFN unanimously passes articles on Human Rights and Biomedicine - September 6, 2001 - Participants at the 19th International Meeting of the World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Huntington's Disease, voted unanimously to pass several articles from the Council of Europe's Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine.

H. Robert Horvitz, Ph.D., - August 30, 2001 - Hereditary Disease Foundation, Science Advisory Board Memeber, H. Robert Horvitz, Ph.D., Receives The Bristol-Myers Squibb Award For Distinguished Achievement In Neuroscience Research.

The Hereditary Disease Foundation Partners with Aurora Biosciences for Therapeutic Drug Discovery. September 12, 2000. Read this PDF file about some questions and answers.

A Tale of Pain and Hope on Lake Maracaibo. Business Week Article, May 29, 2000. Details HD in Venezuela & HDF President Nancy Wexler's HD Project. [.PDF]