Stem Cells Therapy: A Ray of Hope for Huntington Disease

Abstract

Huntington disease is an autosomal neurodegenerative disease that is induced by a repeated trinucleotide sequence of a gene that encodes Huntingtin and is characterized by motor, behavioral, and cognitive manifestations. It is a progressive disorder with symptoms worsening over time. The prevalence of this disease is predominant in the United States as well as the UK. The five main progression stages of this disease are Early stage, Early intermediate stage, Late intermediate stages, Early advanced stage, and Advanced stage. The risk factors at the molecular level are CAG is trinucleotide repeat, CAG instability, and genetic modification. The drugs currently used for this disease are useful only in treating the symptoms of the disease but not as useful long-term therapies. Stem cells remedy on the other hand are much more versatile and might prove effective in the treatment of neurodegeneration. Stem cells, which may be employed in Huntington research, are pluripotent stem cells, embryonic stem cells, neural stem cells, adipose stem cells, and mesenchymal stem cells. Each type of cell line has its essential properties for combating this disease. Although extensive investigations have been carried out for this disease, there is no successful therapy as of today. This review provides comprehensive information on novel stem cell therapy research that has been channeled out for the treatment of this genetic neurodegenerative disorder.